


The Revolutionary

by LuxAestiva



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Eventual Romance, F/M, Slow Burn, will add tags as story continues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:20:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26568682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuxAestiva/pseuds/LuxAestiva
Summary: Thirty-year-old Ai had spent many years living on Kyoshi Island, training with the other women. While beneficial, Ai never felt like putting her whole heart into it. After discovering her talent for writing, she became a fairly famous novelist and gained enough currency to be able to move where she always wanted: Republic City. Unknown to Ai, a revolution was on the rise. And she just might get more caught up in it than she thought.
Relationships: Amon | Noatak/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 30





	1. The Novelist

“Excuse me, are you Ai Hashimoto…?” Ai wasn’t a stranger to getting recognized, but it was still a bit unexpected when it happened. Nothing like that happened back on Kyoshi Island where she knew everyone and everyone knew her - but Republic City was a different story. It turns out she had more fans than she thought, something she kicked herself for not realizing after the amount of royalties that came through on her latest novel. ' _I probably shouldn’t have put my picture on the back of that last book’_ She thought. Nevertheless, she was happy to have fans. She was happy to know that her writing had some form of impact on another’s life, no matter how small. 

It was a young girl, seemingly of Fire Nation descent, as her garments had an accent of red. Even if she were just wearing it for the aesthetic, her golden eyes gave it away. Ai answered simply. “Yes, I am.” The young girl’s eyes brightened, nearly resembling embers, and she reached into the bag at her side. “I-I just bought your newest book today…!” She begins to dig in her bag, struggling to get her grip on the book. She finally pulls it out with an excited, wild gesture and holds it up to Ai. “My name is Nikko. Could… could you sign this for me?” The older of the two smiled warmly and accepted the book from the young girl’s hands. “Of course, but… do you have a pen?” Nikko’s anxiety was palpable after finally processing the question, and rubbing her hands together, she spoke, “I-I don’t have anything to write with. I just realized. I’m-I’m so sorry for bothering you-“ The young Fire Nation girl attempted to snatch the book from Ai’s hands, but Ai was quick to pull away. The young girl retreated her hands to her sides, a pure display of confusion plastered on her face. “There’s a stationary shop near here,” Ai explained. “Let’s grab a pen for you.”

The two made their way through the long alleyway-like street filled with shops, Ai leading and Nikko nervously trailing behind. The stationary shop was small, the second to last on the left side. Ai was familiar with this shop, as she liked to physically write out her stories before her typewriter came into play. Nikko spoke as she moves her hand behind her neck to anxiously yank at her ponytail, “Ms. Hashimoto, you don’t have to do this. Really.” The woman placed a reassuring hand on Nikko’s shoulder and smiled. “You want my autograph and I want to give it to you. Simple as that.” Ai picked out a simple ball-point pen and approached the clerk. “Good day to you, Chen.” 

“Good day, Ms. Ai! I wasn’t expecting you back this quickly.”

“Oh, I’m just buying a pen for my friend here. This is Nikko.” Ai gestured a hand to Nikko, in which the younger girl tensed her shoulders and waved shyly. The clerk, Chen, returned her smile and took the few yuans from in between Ai’s fingers. Packaged in a sleek, black box and tied with a red bow, Ai handed the box to Nikko. The young girl gasped with delight and delicately ran her finger across the box, leaving a smudge due to her sweaty hands. She blushed in embarrassment and removed the bow, hoping to distract Ai from the smudge. Carefully pulling the pen from its indent in the velvet-lined box, Nikko handed the pen to Ai. 

Ai shot Nikko a toothy smile and opened the book’s cover, signing the first page. “To Nikko,” Ai spoke as she wrote. “I hope you like your new pen and I hope you enjoy the book even more. With love, Ai Hashimoto.” Extending her hand to give the book back, Nikko took it cautiously, as if the book was an ancient artifact that hadn't been seen for thousands of years. Within a split moment, Nikko wrapped her arms around Ai, squeezing her into a hug. Despite barely being able to breathe, Ai hugged the girl back. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me,” Nikko spoke almost breathlessly, despite Ai being the one having to catch her breath. “Don’t worry about it, Nikko. I wanted to do this for you. I hope you like your new book,” Ai replied. With a large grin on her face, Nikko raced out of the stationary shop, and within moments, she was gone. “That was very kind of you, Ai,” Chen spoke up from behind the counter. Ai turned to acknowledge him and smiled. 

Exiting the shop, Ai began to make her way towards her apartment downtown. She decided to cut through the park in town center, grateful that the shortest route was also the most scenic. The raven-haired woman took a deep breath, taking in the sight of the pond as she passed over the snow-colored bridge. Though, her relaxation was cut short by the echo of a man’s voice booming through a megaphone. After absentmindedly following the noise, she happened upon some kind of demonstration, or maybe it was some kind of protest? A bearded man stood on a wooden table next to maybe a dozen stacks of flyers. Behind him was a large poster of a masked man. This intrigued Ai from a creative standpoint, thinking she could possibly use this as inspiration for a new story. 

Ai slid her way into the small crowd that was forming, and listened in on what the man was saying. “Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders?! Then join the Equalists! For too long, the bending elite of this city have forced non-benders to live as lower-class citizens!” Being a bender, Ai wasn’t particularly moved by the man’s speech, but she wasn’t necessarily offended by any means either. She refused to earthbend since her adopted sisters' death many years ago. Bending had only brought her pain, at least from her experience with it. Witnessing three members of the Triple Threat Triads threaten an old shopkeeper about a month ago made her realize that she’s not the only one who’s been hurt by bending either. Standing there in the crowd, letting the man’s words through one ear and out the other, she reflected. Maybe bending really is a hindrance on society. But it didn’t matter. She had no right to speak on non-bender issues. “Join Amon, and together we will tear down the bending establishment!” _‘Amon, huh?_ Ai thought. She assumed it must be the masked man on the poster. Suddenly, a young woman’s voice cut in. “What are you talking about? Bending is the coolest thing in the world!” She seemed to be of Water Tribe descent, from her clothes at least - and the fact that she was sitting on a polar bear-dog. The girl and the demonstrator went back and forth a few times. Ai didn’t really pay any mind. This was bound to happen. Ignoring the angry shouting from the other members of the crowd, Ai approached the wooden table and grabbed a flyer. She wasn’t exactly passionate about the words the demonstrator had spoken, but she didn’t completely disagree with him. Plus, this could be some good writing material. The flyer had the same masked man on the front, which Ai assumed was their leader or something like that. The flyer read: The Revelation. “Excuse me,” Ai called out to the demonstrator. “What does this mean? ‘The Revelation?’” The man turned to face Ai and told her, “Only those who are true Equalists will be able to find the Revelation.” ‘ _Well that was cryptic. And unhelpful.’_ She thought. 

Examining the flyer on the rest of the walk home, she overheard a conversation in the alleyway to her right. “This ‘Revelation’ thing. Where do you think it is?” A woman’s voice sounded. Ai stopped dead in her tracks, and backed up against a wall next to the alley. “I’m not too sure,” A man’s voice spoke. “But I heard rumors of a convention hall across the river downtown. Could be worth checking out.” Ai mentally agreed and studied the flyer again. She turned it around in her hands and noticed a red dot on the back. Studying the flyer closer, she realized it bore similar markings to the map near the train station. She had studied that map very closely for her most recent novel, which had taken place in Republic City, and that man was right. Ai thought that building was abandoned before she even moved to the city, but it makes sense that the so-called equalists want to do this in private. Instead of making her way home, she made her way to the apparently not abandoned convention hall. She had no idea when it was going to start, so she grabbed some noodles from a nearby stand and pulled a book from her bag and began reading, and waiting. About an hour after the sun set, a large man appeared in front of the door. Not long after, people started arriving. It was a small, reluctant lot at first, but a line began to form not long after. Ai joined the line after seeing the presence of the same flyer she held in her hand. 

Ai entered the building without a hitch, though the man at the door was a tad bit intimidating. The crowd was beginning to grow, but she was determined to get to the front. She wanted to get a good look at whoever was going to speak tonight. Everyone stood there for maybe ten minutes, Ai glancing behind her shoulder to survey how large the crowd was getting. There were more people there than Ai ever expected, impressed with the fact that they even found this place. The stage lights suddenly flickered on, and a voice boomed overhead. “Please welcome your hero, your savior, Amon!” A trap door opened in the middle of the stage and out rose maybe seven figures. They looked like statues, their shoulders rolled back and feet separated - looking as if they were ready for battle. Ai was in awe, not yet noticing she was slack jawed. She barely heard him begin to speak. He had a low, baritone voice. A voice that commanded a room, which Ai deemed was appropriate for someone like him. He talked about his childhood for a bit, explaining that his distaste for benders started when a firebender took away his family, and then his face. This hit Ai harder than she thought it would, thinking of her sister. She thought that maybe she and the leader of this movement she barely had any interest in prior may have had more in common than she thought.


	2. The Rally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai finds unexpectedly finds herself at an Equalist rally. Remembering her sister, she ends up making a life-changing decision.

“As you know, the Avatar has recently arrived in Republic City,” Amon spoke. The crowd erupted into a chant of “boos.” The arrival of the Avatar didn’t necessarily affect Ai on an emotional level. She wasn’t excited nor displeased. She remembered hearing her speak on the radio a few weeks ago. Ai pegged her as seeming young and nervous. “And if she were here, she would tell you that bending brings balance to the world, but she is wrong. The only thing bending has brought to the world is suffering,” Amon continued. “It has been the cause of _every_ war in _every_ era, but that is about to change. I know you have been wondering, ‘what is the Revelation?’” Ai’s heart was pounding hard in her chest. It was getting more and more difficult to focus on his words with the presence of a lump in her throat.

“-They have granted me a power that will make equality a reality. The power to take a person’s bending away… _permanently._ ” Ai released a shaky breath she didn’t know that she was holding, and sucked in some air with a gasp. ‘ _That’s not actually true… Is it?’_ She thought. She couldn’t stop thinking of her sister now. And seemingly isolated in the large auditorium, Amon’s words muffled in her ears, as she thought of Yukan. 

_“Ai, look! I’m getting better!” Yukan presented a graceful waterbending move to the other girl. The two girls were eight-years-old at the time, being born only a few months apart. Ai had found a home in the Northern Watertribe after the, uh, well, incident. Auka and Nukilik were generous enough to adopt her afterwards and integrate her into their family. Their daughter, Yukan, especially took a liking to Ai, as she always wanted a sister. Both were benders and would train together constantly, Yukan’s father teaching her waterbending and Ai teaching herself earthbending. Auka bought Ai a book on earthbending forms, so fortunately she wasn’t totally clueless. One day, Nukilik offered to take the two small girls out of the city, where they could practice some larger moves. “This will be beneficial to you especially, Ai. An earthbender needs a nice, wide open space,” He told her. They hiked about a mile outside of the walled city and set up camp beneath a cliffed rock. The two girls were practicing on their own for some time, Ai having some difficulties trying to practice this one form._

_She was attempting to move a large, thick slab of rock back and forth. It was simply too heavy, but Ai wouldn’t give up. A couple feet away, Yukan was playfully sparring with her dad. “Hey Ai! Watch this!” Yukan pulled a thick stream of water from the snow and wrapped it around Nukilik’s leg. She yanked him onto the snowy ground with a thump. “Ohhh no! You got me, Yu!” The man shouted in a fake strained voice. Yukan giggled and practically body slammed her father, earning a much more realistic ‘oomph’ from the man. Ai let out a giggle of her own, then went back to focusing on moving the slab. A while later, Yukan and Nukilik had finished up, but Ai was still going at it. “Ai, it's okay to take a break,” The older man laughed. “We can continue later.” Ai let out a large sigh that had built up in her stomach. “But, I’m so close…! I can feel it.” Nukilik smiled and placed a hand on Ai’s back. “We can continue tomorrow, okay?” The little girl’s shoulders slumped, but she followed them back to the campsite. They ate and laughed together. That was the last time Ai remembers them being that close-knit._

_The three of them eventually went to sleep in their fur-lined sleeping bags, but Ai had other plans. Once she was sure Yukan and Nukilik were fast asleep, she got out of her sleeping bag and slipped away. She was determined to move that slab of earth no matter how much it took. That was a mistake. Ai took her stance, knees and elbows bent - her hands balled up in fists. The slab was still positioned upright, all she had to do was move it. The little girl began to sweat, her arms shaking from lack of strength. “Ai…?” A girl’s voice came from behind Ai, causing her to jump and lose her so-called ‘grip’ on the slab. It fell loudly onto the snow. “Yukan… “ Ai spoke breathlessly. “Please don’t tell dad.” Yukan positioned her hands on her hips, standing in a pose that resembled her mother when she was angry. “You should be sleeping!”_

_“I know, I just really want to get the hang of this.”_

_A giant smile formed on Yukan’s lips. Ai knew that smile all too well, “Can I help…?” The Water Tribe girl clasped her hands together in a pleading motion. Ai’s head and shoulders slumped. “Fine. You can help. Do you think you could hold the slab up for me while I bend? It might make it easier.” Yukan scrunched her nose and retorted, “Won’t it be too heavy? Look at how big it is!”_

_“I said I’d be_ bending _it, dummy! Just hold it up a little bit.”_

_Yukan positioned herself to the left of the slab and attempted to lift it up, intense grunts erupting from her mouth. Ai resumed her position and lifted it slightly, leaving room for the other girl to push it with as much strength as she could. This helped immensely and the earthbending girl raised the slab without much difficulty. With the help of Yukan, Ai was able to - slowly - guide the large slabs across the snowy ground. “Yukan! I’m doing it!” Ai shouted. Yukan shot the other girl her trademark giant grin, but her expression quickly turned sour. “Yukan? Ai?”_

_It was Nukilik, but Ai didn’t have time to process this. Hearing her name called caused her to jump… and in turn, lose her grip on the slab. “YUKAN!!” Her father screamed. Ai still hadn’t turned around to face where the other girl had been before the man sprinted past her. The girl was frozen in place, realizing what had happened. She didn’t have the strength to turn around. “AI, LIFT IT!!” Nukilik shouted. Finally turning around, Ai surveyed the scene before her. The slab had falled to the ground, albeit at an angle. Something was underneath the slab._

_It was Yukan. And she wasn’t moving._

_With Nukilik’s help, Ai raised the slab off of his daughter. But it was too late. Yukan had been crushed to death, and it was all Ai’s fault. Nukilik held his daughter in his arms, weeping into the crook of her neck. Ai was hyperventilating, barely even processing the situation. Nukilik wordlessly picked up Yukan’s lifeless body, and began walking into the direction he originally came. Ai followed behind, clutching her chest. The trek back home was silent. And on that walk home, Ai vowed something she’d never forget. She’d never earthbend again. And she hadn’t. Eight years later, Ai left home to live on Kyoshi Island, wishing to train in the martial arts. Some form of fighting was in her blood, but she wished to keep her vow._

This all blew through Ai’s mind in a matter of minutes, and when she looked back up at the stage, an older man was blasting fire at Amon. She was extremely confused, until Amon took him down and placed a hand on the other’s forehead. _‘Is this what he meant…? Is this what taking away someone’s bending looks like?’_ Apparently so. The man’s lightning died down to a flame, and then to nothing. He fell onto the stage with an almost disturbing thump. Amon went down the line of men tied up to the right (well, _her_ right) of the stage. She had recognized one of them as a member of the Triple Threat Triads that had bothered that old shopkeeper about a month ago. Whether it was in awe or fear, Ai stood still, and watched. One, then two, then three, until Amon made his way to the last man. An absolutely terror-stricken young earth bender. He weakly pleaded with the masked man before him, but it was no use. Until a thick fog poured into the room. 

The crowd began to scream and clash against one another. Ai was thankfully not caught in the thick of it. Following the rest of the crowd, Ai ran out of the building and up the street, hopefully able to catch the train home. Apparently, some of the other members of the crowd had the same idea, as she recognized some faces. The train came by, and Ai took an exhausting step onto the train car. The ride home was strangely silent. Maybe that’s how it usually was and Ai was just used to daydreaming, or maybe not. It seemed as if her heart was still pounding as she stepped off the train into her district. She spent the walk home deep in thought, barely running into a man probably walking home from work. She had made a decision. Something she had dreamed about, but thought was impossible, until now at least. 

Ai wanted her earthbending taken away.


	3. The Recruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai decided to act out on her decision, but at what cost?

The previous night, Ai had collapsed into her emerald colored sheets. She was helplessly spiralling, not having even an inkling of how she was going to get to Amon personally. There was even a hint of anxiety added to her decision.  _ ‘Should I go through with it if I even can?’  _ She thought. The question stayed with her for what felt like hours, but she couldn’t get rid of the image of Yukan in her mind. Her father crying out her name. The sound of his weeping after discovering that she was dead. ‘ _ That was all my fault _ .’ She thought. Ai had felt disgusted with herself ever since; disgusted with her bending. Disgusted with how anyone could have that much power and hurt someone with it. The woman’s stomach twisted in knots, leaving her nauseous. She had worked herself up, but since it was too late, Ai decided to overthink some more. ‘ _ Would I have to join the Equalists in order to get my bending taken away?’  _ She didn’t want to, but a small part of her did. A world where no one could hurt another with the use of bending. A world where a little girl couldn’t kill her sister. It was almost like a dream come true. But it was also unrealistic, Ai thought to herself. But she didn’t see it as unrealistic as she used to, not after that rally. 

In the morning, everything from the night before was still on her mind. It was on her mind when she ate, drank tea, brushed her teeth, even when she bathed. The warm water from her bath didn’t do her any favors. Out of anxiety, she clawed at her scalp, feeling completely stuck. ‘ _ I should just do it. I should just get it over with. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but I want this gone.’  _ Ai quickly got done with her bath, got dressed, and stepped out of her apartment. She didn’t even know where to go. Where to start. Should she start with that demonstrator from the other day? ‘ _ He  _ did  _ have that map.’ _ Ai thought, but she dismissed it in an instant. They were probably supplied by someone, but who? Her back slumped against the door to her apartment, as she felt incredibly defeated. She had to resist sliding down into a sitting position. She couldn’t just ask around, as Republic City’s politicians didn’t particularly care for “Equalist talk.” 

Ai made up her mind. She was going to go back to Republic City Park to question the demonstrator, no matter how fruitless it seemed. She took a deep breath and began her trek to the train station. The train seemed a bit more lively that morning to Ai’s delight. The noise was able to distract her slightly from the pent up anxiety from the previous night. The train ride to the city center didn’t take that long, and Ai was there in a matter of minutes. She didn’t have enough money for a Satomobile just yet. Where would she park it anyway?

Ai was thankful to let these thoughts occupy her mind as she walked briskly in the park’s direction. The demonstrator was finally in Ai’s sight, blabbering away as usual. No megaphone, though. Surprisingly, there weren’t nearly as many people gathered around him that day. Perhaps people were scared after what happened last night. Ai had overheard it was Avatar Korra who disrupted the rally on the train. It made sense that the Equalists were now seen as more of a threat, after Amon revealed that he could take away someone’s bending. As Ai approached the man, she noticed some park-goers would quickly stop and listen, but would eventually become too paranoid and begin walking again. She wasn’t going to let this stop her. 

“Excuse me,” Ai interrupted, starting their now second interaction with the same phrase. “Yes, ma’am, what can I do for you?” The demonstrator answered, his voice still at the same volume as his speeches. Ai cringed at this, but began to speak once again, “Are those flyers delivered here?” This earned a suspicious look from the man, and Ai realized this may not have been the best way to go about things after what happened at the rally. “Why do you want to know?! Are you some kind of spy or something?” The man retorted loudly. With a question asked at a volume like that, Ai assumed that maybe, just  _ maybe _ , this guy wasn’t the sharpest spear in the hut. “What? No- I was just curious. I just… I just want to…” The woman leaned in close, dramatically so, and whispered as telligible as she could. “ _ I want to join the Equalists. _ Do you know how I could do that?” The man’s eyes widened, it being very obvious that he took the younger woman’s words to heart. The demonstrator surveyed his surroundings before hopping off of his platform and leaning in close to Ai, raising a hand to cover up his words. “ _ There’s a bookstore on 13th street. They train chi-blockers in secret in the basement. Give the clerk this -“  _ The man handed Ai a small, round piece of red metal. Flipping the cold medallion in her hands, she noticed the back had Amon’s insignia. Ai gave the man a knowing nod and slipped it into her shirt pocket. She left him with a ‘thank you’ and began walking towards the direction of the bookstore. 

Thankfully, it was easy to find, as Ai was familiar with almost all of the bookstores in Republic City. They  _ were  _ selling her novels, after all. Ai didn’t fully realize just how nervous she was until she entered the shop. There were a few people in there browsing, which made Ai  _ more  _ nervous. She hesitantly approached the clerk, a dark-haired middle-aged man with a thick moustache, and surveyed her surroundings. It probably looked a little too obvious. There were still a few people in view, and with sweat beginning to form on her forehead, Ai took the small medal from her pocket and set her palm down onto the counter. Without lifting her hand, she spread her fingers, revealing the small piece of metal between her middle and ring finger. The clerk eyed her knowingly and lifted the thin plank of wood separating himself from the rest of the store. Ai finally realized that he was gesturing to her to go to the back of the store, and took what felt like a million steps toward the unseen backroom. The man followed behind her and opened the door to what Ai assumed was the basement. She took her first few steps slowly down the stairs, though she continued quicker when she heard a frustrated huff emit from the clerk behind her. They travelled through a stone hallway together and ended up in a brightly lit concrete room. The walls were adorned with the same insignia on the small medallion now in the clerk’s possession, and the eastern wall wore a banner with Amon’s likeness. “Your new recruit is here,” the clerk announced a bit too loudly for Ai’s taste, and then exited the room abruptly. 

The woman stood there awkwardly, not entirely knowing what to do. A woman in a pale green overshirt approached Ai, the bottom-half of her face covered by a black, cloth mask. “Ah, it’s nice to meet you.” She bowed and Ai returned the gesture. “You didn’t happen to bring a mask, did you?” The raven-haired woman’s heart rose to her throat as she froze. ‘ _ A mask? Fuck, how was I supposed to know I had to bring a mask?!’  _ Sensing Ai’s discomfort, the other woman chuckled and patted the other’s shoulder. “No worries, we have a few spares.” The woman approached a crate in the opposite corner of the room and removed the top. There had to be hundreds of masks inside.  _ ‘A  _ few  _ spares, huh?’ _ Ai decided to approach the gray-eyed woman, and while she was still crouched, turned to hand Ai a mask. As Ai pulled the mask over her head, a thought manifested in her mind that should’ve probably appeared sooner.  _ ‘What the hell am I getting myself into?’  _

The other woman playfully punched Ai in the arm with a laugh. “Looks good on ya.” Ai rubbed where the punch had landed and returned a nervous ‘thank you.’ The other woman’s eyes widened for a moment before she spoke, “Oh! Name’s Pao, by the way.” 

“Ai.” She froze when she realized just how much of a hole she was digging herself into today, but calmed a bit when she remembered her picture on her newest novel.  _ ‘They could figure out anyway.’  _ Pao placed a hand on her hip. “So, you got any experience in chi-blocking?” She did, actually. Ever since Ty Lee joined the Kyoshi Warriors over seventy years ago, chi-blocking was heavily integrated into the curriculum when Ai was training on Kyoshi Island. “I do, actually. I trained in it for three years. But… that was almost ten years ago.” The other woman blinked in surprise. “Wow… I honestly didn’t expect that answer. So far, no one that’s come in here has any prior experience with chi-blocking. Where did you train?”

“Kyoshi Island.”

“Wait what-“ Pao was at a loss for words, which left Ai a bit confused. Was it that unheard of nowadays? “You  _ trained  _ with the  _ Kyoshi Warriors _ .” Ai nodded. “And you didn’t continue with it?” Ai shook her head ‘no.’ A look of disbelief was plastered on Pao’s face. “Holy shit. What I would’ve done to be in your place,” The woman raised her hands defensively in front of her chest. “But I’m sure you had your reasons.” Ai smiled sheepishly at that, grateful to have someone understand her so quickly. “Welp, let's get to work. I’m sure you’ll have a better start than some of the people here, even if you haven’t trained for almost a decade.” Pao placed a firm hand on the small of Ai’s back, and guided her towards one of the training dummies. “Wait-“ Ai began. “Is there a reason why we have to wear masks in here?” Pao patted Ai’s back with the same hand that guided her to the training dummy. Her eyes crinkled a bit, presumably smirking beneath her mask. “On the off chance we gotta get away quick, which isn’t very likely, you don’t want people rememberin’ your face, do ya?” Ai then understood, and blushed from asking what she felt was a foolish question. Pao removed her hand from the other woman’s back and placed herself to the left side of the dummy. “Alright. Let’s see what you got.” 

To her surprise, Ai hadn’t lost much skill over the years. She was definitely quite a bit rusty, but nothing some practice couldn’t fix. She had positioned herself in a defensive stance, landing hits on both sides of the dummy’s abdomen. She then circled the dummy, hitting up and down both of its arms. Ai didn’t think much of it, but apparently Pao did. The brunette woman watched Ai with intent the whole time, only to end up in a state of awe by the time she was done. “ _ Goddamn,”  _ Pao swore. “That was pretty good.” Ai rubbed the back of her head in a harsh motion. “Wait, really? I didn’t think anything of it. It was pretty basic.” Pao wrapped an arm around Ai’s shoulder and whispered, her breath reaching Ai’s ear. “Buddy, basic  _ here  _ is throwing a weak punch or two. What you just did, is like, level five.” This surprised Ai.  _ ‘I would’ve thought Amon would purely pick only the best of the best. It’s a bit admirable that he takes in just anyone.’  _ Ai wouldn’t admit this to herself, though. I mean, it’s not like she’s an  _ Equalist  _ or anything. This is just a short ploy to get her bending taken away, and then it’s time to go home and get back to writing as she always does.  _ Right?  _

“Everyone, gather around me,” Pao suddenly announced to the rest of the room. The four other people gathered in a circle that included both Pao and Ai. The woman in the pale green overshirt looked at Ai with expectant eyes. “Well, aren’t you gonna show ‘em how much better you are than them?” The green-eyed woman froze at that statement. “I-I wouldn’t say I’m much better than any of you-“

“I would!” Pao shouted. “Everybody, watch and learn. Our new recruit here will be teaching you today.” And she did. Everyone was excited to learn what Ai called “basic moves.” This actually made Ai feel a bit special. She was always a bit below-average when it came to the Kyoshi Warriors, but here she was king, or, well, queen. Ai spent a few hours helping the others in the room slowly get up to her level. By 3:00 PM, everyone had almost mastered it, except for a scrawny twenty-something year old in a blue vest. “I-I’m sorry, I just don’t think I’m fast enough,” He spoke sadly. “You think that’s good enough for Amon?! I should just toss you to the police right now!” Pao replied harshly. The young man cowered slightly, and Ai raised a hand to Pao. “Don’t be so harsh on him. He just simply learns a bit slower.” Pao released a huff of frustration as Ai turned to face the young man. “What’s your name?”

“Jishin. My name is Jishin.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jishin. I’m Ai.” The older woman held out a hand for the young man to shake. He took it, and smiled. “Jishin,” Ai began. “When I was training with the Kyoshi Warriors, I was the lowest in my class. Did you know that?” Jishin shook his head ‘no.’ “It doesn’t matter if you learn a bit slower than the others. I think as long as you’re learning and doing the best you can, you’re doing a good job. That’s what my instructor told me.” Jishin’s smile grew larger, before completely disappearing. His eyes grew large as his attention turned to something out of Ai’s vision. Pao’s voice was the first thing she heard. 

“Amon…! Thank you so much for checking on our progress.” 


	4. The Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai finally gets what she's always wanted, at a price.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay! I also want to apologize if this chapter is a bit lacking. My anxiety has been very bad the last few days, but I really wanted to write, so hopefully that doesn't reflect too much in this chapter. Thank you so much to anyone who's been reading!

Jishin quickly got to his feet. He stood there in awe, turning his expression to Ai. “Amon…! He’s here! It’s really him!” Ai felt a familiar lump form in her throat. She felt as if she didn’t have the courage to turn around and face him, a pang of anxiety spread through her chest. But she was also curious. Curious to see him in a casual manner, not on a giant stage speaking to thousands of people, but in a small room speaking to his followers. Ai took a deep breath and slowly turned around, ready to face the masked man. It was nerve-wracking, being in the same room with such a powerful man. 

Pao was conversing with him, and Ai was clueless as to how casual she was behaving. The brunette displayed excited gestures, a complete contrast to Amon’s tense, unmoving form. Ai just stood there, waiting. Should she approach? No, maybe not. It wasn’t her place to do so. Once again, Ai found herself standing awkwardly in the small concrete room. Although, she perked up when Pao, still speaking, began pointing at Ai. She began to sweat nervously, nonchalantly rubbing the palms of her hands on the back of her thighs. Pao, Amon, and the men he brought along with him all approached Ai. “Hey Ai, I was just telling our esteemed leader here all about how talented you are!” Ai’s muscles tensed and her face felt as if it was about to light on fire. “Really…? I’m honored…! It is very nice to meet you, sir,” Ai spat before taking a bow, which ended up being too quick and gave her a head rush.    
  
“I’ve been told you trained with the Kyoshi Warriors when you were younger,” Amon spoke. “And that you have helped Pao train the others, despite it being your first day.” Ai involuntary let out a nervous giggle. “It, uh, It-It seems - uh - well, y-yes, sir, I  _ did  _ help, but I promise you it wasn’t that big of a deal. Very basic moves.” Amon took a step closer towards Ai, and her breath caught in the back of her throat. “I would like for you to demonstrate what you have taught today.”

“Oh, uh, of course. Here -” Ai positioned herself in front of the wooden dummy and proceeded to display what she had done earlier. “Very good,” Amon praised. “Have you tried this on a  _ living  _ person today?” The raven-haired woman shook her head. “Uh, no. Only on the dummy.” The masked man turned his head to face Pao, and gestured in her direction. “I would like to see how you handle yourself against a real opponent.” Ai realized what the man was insinuating and began to try to weasel her way out of it, when Amon cut her off with the raising of his hand. “I would think a former Kyoshi Warrior -” Amon turned to face Pao. “- could handle an amatuer street-rat such as her.” For a quick second, Pao’s expression turned sour, but she quickly corrected it. She  _ was  _ in the presence of her leader, after all. But Ai could see what Amon was doing, attempting to compliment her into accepting. She didn’t exactly want to fight Pao, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of all these people either. “A-Alright…” 

Pao and Ai moved to the center of the room, facing each other. They assumed defensive positions, respectively, and Pao’s brows furrowed before throwing the first punch. Ai managed to catch the other woman’s arm and tossed her over her shoulder. Pao landed into a somersault and gained her balance once again. With a low growl, Pao tossed out a low roundhouse kick. Ai managed to jump up and avoid it and Pao threw another punch. It was slower than the previous one, and Ai took a chance to hit up and down the brunette’s arm. Pao groaned loudly as her right arm fell abruptly to her side. While Pao tended to her injury, Ai quickly took care of the left side of Pao’s abdomen. Clutching her side, Pao fell onto the ground. Ai crouched down in order to help Pao up, before a voice cut in. “You’ve done very well.” Amon approached the two women before Ai was able to spit out an apology. “Thank you, sir,” Ai replied weakly before turning her attention to her friend on the ground. “Pao, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” With a grunt, Ai wrapped her arm around Pao’s shoulders and helped her to her feet. “Yeah, you did,” The gray-eyed woman let out a dry chuckle. “You had to.” She shot a small, tired smile at Ai. “No hard feelings?”

“No hard feelings.”

Two of Amon’s chi-blockers took Pao from Ai’s grasp. “There is a medical bay at our headquarters,” Amon explained. “You will be taken care of there.” Through gritted teeth, Pao replied with a ‘thank you,’ and the three disappeared into the hallway. Ai let out a tired sigh, before returning to an attentive posture. She was curious as to why Amon had her fight. “Sir, if I may ask, why did you have me do this?”  _ ‘Was it to make sure I wasn’t lying?’  _ She thought. “I am in search of some extra man-power. I’d like you to join my cause and become a chi-blocker. Your background is promising.” Ai was at a loss for words. ‘ _ This… This isn’t what I wanted to happen…’  _ Before she could protest, Amon began walking towards the exit of the room. “Your uniform will be delivered to your apartment,” He announced. Ai blinked a few moments before fully processing what he said. “You… You know my address?” After giving it even a second of thought, Ai realized that a man such as Amon would  _ have  _ to make sure he’s not being spied on - especially after the rally. Amon stopped in his tracks and turned to Ai. “Of course I do,  _ Ai Hashimoto _ ,” He spoke in a calculating manner. “Your novels happen to be a favorite among my followers.” Was that a joke? Did he just joke? Ai honestly couldn’t tell. She opened her mouth to speak, but could find no words, and let the masked man fully exit the room. She stood there for a moment, blindly, not fully processing how serious of a situation she’s gotten herself into. Her lack of thoughts were cut short by a pair of arms wrapping around her shoulders. “Ai, that was awesome! You’re gonna be a full-fledged chi-blocker!” She let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah…”

Ai finally returned to her home as the sun began to set. Flopping onto her couch, she threw her arm over her face. “What have I done…?” She spoke to herself aloud. She sat there for a moment, recollecting the events that transpired that day. ‘ _ Maybe this is simply what it takes to get to Amon?’  _ Ai quickly tossed that thought out the window. She decided it was simply too much. She can’t just join a cause for a selfish reason like hers, a cause that is opposed by every politician in the city for that matter. It was too dangerous. Two voices in her head pierced through one another. 

‘ _ You finally have a way to get rid of your bending for good. Won’t you do anything for that to happen?’ _

_ ‘It’s too risky. Amon is a dangerous and powerful man. He could snuff you out in an instant if he found out your heart wasn’t in the revolution. You need to pull out  _ now.’ 

Ai shot up with an exasperated sigh. Surveying her room in a state of defeat, she eyed a cardboard box on her kitchen table. ‘ _ That wasn’t there when I left this morning.’  _ She thought. Ai took a few reluctant steps into her kitchen and delicately wiped her hand across the box. Clutching both sides, she raised the top and looked inside. It was an Equalist uniform, the same that those chi-blockers that she saw today were wearing. She lifted the mask on top of the pile and studied it closely, eyeing the green goggles more so than the rest of the mask. The woman haphazardly tossed the mask back into the box and slumped onto her kitchen table, cradling her face. “I can’t do this,” She spoke. “It’s not right. I’ll return it tomorrow.” But where? Ai had no idea where the box came from, let alone how it got inside. With a growl, Ai assumed that hopefully she’ll get an assignment or something; something that’ll lead her to Amon again. There, she can tell him the truth and, hopefully, he’ll pity her. ‘ _ Hopefully.’ _

After a night of tossing and turning over her decision, Ai found that she could only have tea for breakfast. After a few minutes of taking nervous, quick sips, there was a knock at her door. This made Ai jump, but she quickly corrected herself and opened the door. It was a man she had never seen before, with dark brown eyes and neatly combed hair. “You the new recruit?” Ai nodded wordlessly. “Get dressed. Amon wants you to deliver some flyers with me today.” Ai froze at the name ‘Amon,’ and parted her lips before asking, “My uniform or…?”

“ _ No _ . Not in broad daylight. Just put on your regular clothes,” The unnamed man spat. Ai physically recoiled at his tone, but spoke up again. “Will we be seeing Amon today? I need to speak with him.” The man’s eyes furrowed in an annoyed manner, but he replied. “Yes. Tonight, I’ll show you to HQ.” The woman’s eyes brightened at the statement and she invited the man in. “My name’s Ai. You?” 

“Toga.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Toga.” 

Ai proceeded to change out of her pajamas and exited the apartment complex with Toga. In the alleyway to the left-side of the building was a white delivery van. “Er, who’s going to drive?” Toga tossed Ai a questioning look. “I was planning on letting you. It would help you get to know our routes.” Ai felt sweat form at her temple. “Ah… I see…”

“You don’t have your driving license do you?”

“No…” 

Toga pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’ll have to take care of that. I’ll drive for now.” 

For a majority of the day, Ai and Toga delivered flyers to various protestors throughout the city. Ai was both surprised and not to see them. She wasn’t surprised because she knew just how large the cause was getting but was since she assumed they wouldn’t even be allowed to do this anymore. Freedom of speech, she supposed. They ended up having lunch together, and Toga talked about how his family was wiped out by a bender, just like Amon. “He held a piece of rock over their heads when they were down, and just…” The man cringed at the thought. Ai cringed too, but for a slightly different reason. Hearing his story made her feel more disgusted with her bending and reminded her even more of her sister. 

They delivered a few more flyers in the evening, and when the sun went down, Toga drove to a sewer grate in a less populated part of the city. Ai was a bit confused, and was honestly convinced they were about to crash into it, when the grate opened to welcome them in. They drove down the tunnel a ways before parking it behind a hidden door in the wall. Ai was in awe at what an intricate setup the Equalists had. Toga led her to one of the many metal doors within the tunnel and opened it for her. “Thank you, sir,” She joked. “It’s my pleasure, madam,” Toga replied. Ai smiled at this, pleased with the difference from how stern Toga was this morning - though she did only know him for a day. 

As Ai entered through the door, she discovered it was lined with posters of Amon and around sat over a dozen chi-blockers. Some were conversing with one another, some were reading, and some were simply lounging. ‘ _ Huh… So this is what they do in their free time. It’s interesting to see them so chilled-out.’  _ She felt a little out of place, not being in uniform, though Toga’s lack of uniform made her feel a bit more comfortable, “You wanted to speak with Amon, right? He’s right up those stairs,” The man pointed to a set of metal stairs in the left-hand corner of the room. Ai thanked him and started up the stairs. But that’s when the fear set in. She was about to personally speak with Amon.  _ Amon. _

‘ _ You spoke with him already. It’s not that big of a deal.’ _

_ ‘You haven’t spoken with him in a capacity such as this. He’s surrounded by his chi-blockers and probably his Lieutenant. You will be approaching one of the most, if not  _ the  _ most powerful man in the city. And you’re asking him a favor. A favor he doesn’t owe you.’  _

Ai impulsively slapped the side of head, not entirely realizing that’s not a normal thing to do in a public space. Well, private.  _ Well _ , secret. That all too familiar lump formed in her throat as she approached the wide doorway. She could already see Amon standing there, conversing with his Lieutenant. She ended up stopping dead in her tracks.  _ ‘Should I just go in? Is he in a meeting? I don’t want to interrupt-‘ _ Apparently, Amon is a mind-reader. As if answering her mental questions, he turned his head in her direction and nodded, as if saying, ‘yes, you can come in.’ A quiet ‘oh’ escaped Ai’s lips and she resumed walking, completely forgetting everything she was going to say. Her eyes were locked with the eye-holes of his mask, and that’s all she focused on as she entered the room. He approached her, hands spread in an almost joyous gesture. “If it isn’t my new recruit,” Amon greeted. “I see Toga took care of his assignment.”  _ His _ assignment? Ai pushed that thought away for now and took a deep breath, bringing up the courage to tell Amon the truth. She nonchalantly surveyed her surroundings. Amon’s Lieutenant stood to her right, and a few chi-blockers stood a few feet from her to her left. ‘ _ This is going to be embarrassing.’  _

“I… I am not who you think I am. And I did not join this cause as a selfless gesture,” Ai started. “I simply wanted to get to you and… and I didn’t plan on getting involved as much as I did.” Ai took another deep breath and turned her head to completely face the chi-blockers, the Lieutenant, and then Amon. Ai raised her hands in a defensive gesture and confessed. “Amon, sir, I’m an earthbender.” Ai could feel the tone of the room shift. It seemed everyone’s body language became tense. All except for Amon. He was silent, urging Ai to continue. “I wanted to speak with you ever since I went to your rally out of curiosity. When I saw you could take someone’s bending away…” The woman began to tear up involuntarily. “I knew that there was finally a solution to this plague that my body’s been infected with. This-This  _ disease  _ that I’ve wanted to be cured of ever since-“ She was shaking now, tears streaming down her face. 

Ai suddenly dropped to her knees, gripping the floor. “I _ killed  _ my sister because of bending. I lost my sister and tore apart my family. I’ve never used earthbending since,  _ no matter what _ .” Information spewed out of her mouth, something she didn’t expect when first entering the room. All was still for a moment. No one dared speak a word. 

Until Amon took a few, seemingly cautious steps, towards Ai’s trembling form. She felt him place a hand on her forehead. It felt like such a soft, kind gesture - so different from the aggressive grip of the neck that she saw on stage that day. “Your bending has been a burden on you for far too long,” Amon told her. “It’s time for that burden to be released.” Ai felt the masked man’s grip on her forehead tense slightly, and then an intense lethargy. Before she hit the ground, she quickly caught herself with her hands. ‘ _ He did it. My bending - it’s gone.’  _ A dry chuckle left her throat before feeling two pairs of arms help her up. Looking Amon in the eye, Ai gave him a large smile. The largest smile she’s worn on her face in years. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” Ai swore she saw his eyes soften. “You can thank me by fighting for the Equalists.”


	5. The Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai goes in for an unexpected job interview.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gahh! I am SO sorry this took so long! I've been dealing with a lot of mental health issues lately as well as school being a pain in my side. This is also a fairly weak chapter, so I apologize. I promise it'll get better! For now, have a half-assed picture I drew of Ai from Instagram! While I'm not allowed to promote it, see if you can find it in the TLOK tag ;).

The next time Ai opened her eyes, she found herself on top of a soft surface, surrounded by white curtains. A weak sigh escaped her lips as her eyes adjusted to the light. She laid there for a few moments, trying to recall what had happened before. ‘ _My bending… It’s gone. Finally.’_ She thought. She felt a small smile form. ‘ _No more guilt.’_ After shutting her eyes for a quick second, they fluttered back open when Ai heard shuffling to her right-hand side. Peering over she noticed Toga sitting there, concentrating on the floor. “Toga....” He was slumped over, studying the metal floor. Hearing his voice, he straightened his back, a scowl cemented on his face. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a bender? An _earthbender_ to be exact. I told you about what happened to my parents and you-” He cuts himself off, throwing his head into his hands. He froze for a second before speaking again. “You kept that from me. From the Equalists.”

Ai layed there for a moment, soaking up Toga’s words. She curled up into a ball, pushing her head further into her pillow. “I’m sorry, Toga. I’m sorry for not telling you, but I need you to know that I didn’t want to be a bender. Earthbending took away someone I loved too and it was my fault. We had similar experiences, Toga, and I should have shared that with you when we were talking, but I chickened out. I didn’t want to tell you I was a bender until I had it taken away.” Toga blinked a few times, a noticeably confused expression plastered on his face. “You had it taken away by choice…? I-I thought you got found out. That… That you were a spy for the police or something.” Ai let out a dry chuckle. “I didn’t plan on getting this far into the cause. I just wanted to get to Amon. I didn’t think I’d become a chi-blocker.” Toga’s brows rose at her words. “I see… So… Are you even an Equalist?” Laying there on her cot, Ai thought back to what Amon said after taking her bending. “Yeah. I suppose I am now. I have a debt to repay, after all.”

They both stayed within another’s company for a few minutes, before Ai let out a few dry coughs. “Do you think you could grab me some water?” Toga replied with a nod and lifted himself from the plastic armchair he had been sitting in. Feeling incredibly lethargic, Ai chose to close her eyes for a bit, but opened them again after about a minute, as she heard footsteps entering her little area. She sat up, expecting Toga returning with her drink, but was surprised to find Amon’s Lieutenant. “Oh… Hello,” Ai greeted, her voice hoarse. The man didn’t reply verbally, but with a nod, and helped himself to Toga’s chair. “How are you feeling?” This question left Ai feeling a bit surprised, as the Lieutenant had made himself out to be some kind of cold war machine. But now that she’s gotten a glimpse into the so-called “revolution,” she could see that even the coldest had a bit of humanity within them. Even their leader. 

“Could be better,” Ai replied. “Also, I just realized I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Ai.” She held out her hand from her bedside. There was a split second of silence before the Lieutenant quickly pulled off his goggles, and his mask to follow. Along with the bottom half of his face she could already see, he had short black hair and striking blue eyes. He was more good-looking than she thought he’d be. He introduced himself as “Liang,” and shook her hand. “I’m sure you didn’t just come here to check on me out of the kindness of your heart. What does Amon need from me?” Liang blinked for a second, most likely surprised by the vast difference between the scared little girl he saw in Amon’s office last night and the confident woman in front of him now. “He has an assignment for you as soon as you feel better. As soon as you feel like you can get up, come see him in his office.” As the man hopped up from his seat, Ai called out for him. “Wait…! I can get up now. Just let me -” She would’ve fallen onto the cold floor if Liang weren’t there to catch her. “I think you need some more rest,” He told Ai, still holding her weight in his arms. After hearing the sound of rustling curtains, the two turn to face Toga, holding a glass cup. “Woah… I’m, uh, not _interrupting_ anything, am I?” Ai feels herself freeze in Liang’s arms, and he follows suit. They harshly pull away from each other, Ai tripping and falling onto the cot behind her. “Shit… Sorry, sister.” Still on her back, Ai sends out a playful salute. “No problem, Lieutenant.”

After Liang had exited the small makeshift room, Toga handed Ai her rightful cup of water. She consumed the drink ardently and tossed it haphazardly onto the cardboard box next to the cot. “Sheesh, when’s the last time you drank?” Toga asked as he retrieved the cup. “Yesterday,” Ai answered breathlessly. Toga sighed and cocked an eyebrow at the woman. “That question wasn’t meant to be answered.” Ai shot a goofy grin at the man and they both let out a chuckle. After enjoying each other’s company for a bit, Ai decided to get some sleep. Upon waking up, Toga wasn’t at her bedside. ‘ _Probably on an assignment’_ She assumed. Cautiously sitting up, she slowly slid off of the cot. She was able to actually keep her balance this time, unlike what happened previously. Ai decided she felt well enough to go see what Amon needed and exited her small room. Upon exiting, she noticed there was a plethora of makeshift rooms within the larger metal room. _‘This must be the Medical Bay.’_ She found another chi-blocker and asked for directions to Amon’s office. Feeling a bit silly after hearing the simple directions, she headed up a flight of stairs east of the room. 

She felt anxiety rise in her chest at the idea of once again entering Amon’s office. If she had to be completely honest with herself, it was a bit embarrassing being so vulnerable in front of those people the last time she was there. Okay, _very_ embarrassing. What must Amon think of her? ‘ _He’s probably going to dismiss me for being such a fucking crybaby.’_ She thought jokingly. Yeah, _jokingly._ Before heading up the next flight of stairs into the office, she took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders back, almost imitating the masked leader in a way. As she arrived in her leader’s office, she nodded in greeting to Lieutenant Liang. He nodded back and they both turned to face Amon, who was facing a map in the north end of the room. Ai cleared her throat before speaking, causing the hooded man to turn around. “I, uh, was told you needed to speak with me.” Amon took a couple of short steps to the table Liang sat at and gestured out his hand. “Sit. We have much to discuss.”

Ai took a seat reluctantly, feeling Amon’s eyes bore into her own from his mask. She sat there and shared the quiet between her leader and his lieutenant. Within the silence, Liang pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket and lit one up. He handed one to Amon and offered one to Ai, which she turned down politely. She watched the man to her left intently as he slowly - almost teasingly - lifted his mask above his mouth. She could see a thick scar covering the majority of what skin she could see, and as he struck a match and pulled the lit cigarette closer to his lips, she could see the left side of his upper lip was pulled back to reveal his teeth. ‘ _So that’s why…’_ Before she could finish her thought, Amon had already taken a puff of his cigarette and began to speak. “I have a special task for you, as you seem to have a special talent for infiltrating.” Ai hoped she was simply imagining a slight hint of venom in that last word. Amon slid a folder that was present on the table in Ai’s direction, and upon opening it, was a photo of someone she recognized. “Councilwoman Takara. I’ve seen her in the newspaper before. What does she have to do with my task?” She wanted to avoid Amon’s eyesight for as long as she could, studying the photo of the older Fire Nation woman, but eventually realized he wouldn’t start talking again until she faced him. Perhaps some form of power-play, she assumed. It wouldn’t surprise her, coming from a guy like him. Maybe it was even something more sinister, something inside him that grew excited to see the fear in her eyes when conversing with him. 

“Councilwoman Takara is searching for an assistant to work for her in City Hall. I want you to go in for an interview.” He spoke that previous sentence with an almost playful tone. “...I see. You wish for me to keep track of what the council plans to do about the Equalists?” 

“Precisely.”

Ai would feel more excited about pleasing her leader if she weren’t so focused on the movement of his lips. She felt it wasn’t something that would be a familiar sight. She was told when and where the interview would be, that she would be given clothes to wear (despite having clothes of her own she could wear), what to say, and who to practice the interview questions with. She was first made to practice with Liang in the presence of Amon, much to her displeasure, but did better than she thought she would. She definitely still needed some work, but she didn’t _totally_ embarrass herself. 

Over the next few days, Ai practiced with Toga until she could hear the questions as she drifted off to sleep in her apartment. They would practice in Toga’s van - he still wouldn’t let her drive, despite her being older - while delivering their flyers. The day finally came, and as Ai climbed the concrete steps to City Hall, she felt an uncomfortable parallel to climbing the steel steps to Amon’s office. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door to bump into one of the members of the council. “Oh, excuse me, miss. I assume you’re here to see Councilwoman Takara?” Ai recognized him from the papers as well - it was Councilman Tarrlok. “Oh - er, yes, sir. Is she busy?” He smiled at her question, and while it seemed to be good-natured, Ai couldn’t help but feel uneasy. “She’s right in her office. Take the stairs to the right and her office will be the first you’ll find.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome.”

As he strode down the steps was the first time Ai saw his ponytails. They were always hidden behind his back when he posed for pictures. She shrugged him off and entered the large concrete building - her footsteps echoing so loudly up the walls, she cringed. Ai quickly peered into the Councilwoman’s office to see her writing at her desk, and helped herself inside. “Councilwoman Takara?” 

The older woman lifted her head from her work and smiled warmly. “Yes, how can I help you?” Ai began wringing her hands together, suddenly becoming nervous. “I’m here about the assistant position,” She explained. “Oh! You’re just in time! Please sit.” The other woman gestured to the wooden bench next to the door to her office. After Ai took an almost cautious seat, the Councilwoman rose from her own seat and circled around her desk to stand in front of it. 

“You’ve got the job.” What? Ai blinked for a few moments before mustering up some form of clarity to speak. “I’m… sorry?” 

“You’re hired. Unfortunately, you’re the only candidate that’s come in as of late, and I’m in desperate need of a helper. It seems all this Equalist business is turning people away from wanting to work here.” 

“I see. Well, thank you very much! I promise I won’t disappoint!” Ai shot up from the bench and took a bow. “Can you start tomorrow?” 

“Yes, ma’am!” 

Upon returning to the Equalists’ Headquarters, Ai happily shared her victory with Toga, then Liang and Amon. Her leader was pleased with her, to Ai’s delight, and invited her to share a cup of ginseng tea. This, Ai was less delighted with - not because she didn’t want to have tea with her leader. No, that was a high honor. It was just that any interaction she had with Amon as of late left her with a pit in her stomach. She felt anxious when speaking with him, and she wasn’t sure if it was simply because he was her superior or if she was purely afraid of him. But she had no reason to be afraid of him now. Her bending was gone - not that losing her bending was anything to grieve over. 

They sat there for a moment after Amon had surprisingly dismissed everyone, including his lieutenant, out of the room. Ai stared into the swirling steam pouring out of her tea, not daring to look Amon in the eye. She heard him pick up his cup with a delicate touch and take a sip. Clenching her eyes shut, she repeated his act. “You’re afraid of me. I’d like to know why.” This made Ai jump a bit, a small amount of tea falling out of the cup. She quickly wiped it up with her sleeve, and finally looked up and faced her leader. “Who said I’m afraid of you?” She tried to challenge him, but the tone she produced was shakier than she anticipated. Amon let out a small chuckle and took another sip of his tea. 

Ai accepted defeat at this point and stared down at her cup. “I don’t know,” she answered, just above a whisper. She thought for a moment, and it quickly dawned on her, though she would never admit it. Especially not to him. “It seems you do,” Amon spoke, seeing right through her. _‘How did he know?’_ Ai turned her line of sight away from her cup to the floor, a pained expression present on her face. “I have a… theory,” she paused for a long while. “I-I don’t wish to discuss something of that-” Ai faced Amon fully for the first time. “- that nature.” She had hoped emulating Amon’s manner of speech would have done _something_ to help her case, perhaps showing that she’s less afraid of him. Which is a lie, but he wouldn’t know that, right?

  
Amon nodded, showing a semblance of empathy, and relaxed in his chair. “Perhaps one day, you’ll feel comfortable enough around me. For now, hopefully, these little meetings will do.” Ai was confused by that last statement. _‘These? Does he want to meet more? But why?’_ She thought. She kept silent, though, as too many thoughts were flooding her head at the moment. They were both silent for a bit but made idle chit-chat regarding what had happened with Councilwoman Takara. They talked for about an hour and by that time, Ai had actually felt much calmer. Completely, actually. Odd. As Ai stood from her seat, she bowed to her leader and gave him a warm smile. “Thank you for the tea. I look forward to our next meeting.”


	6. The Motorcycle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai gets her own motorcycle.

The next day was a busy one - a day full of rushing around and arms wrapped around a thick stack of paper. The Councilwoman is nice enough but, boy, did she put Ai to work. The first day was filled with anxiety, as she had no prior experience being an assistant before. Catching up to Councilwoman Takara, Ai explained this to her. “Councilwoman, I’m sorry to bother you, but is it possible for me to go through some kind of training? I didn’t realize this wasn’t an entry-level job and-“ The Councilwoman cut her off with a motion of her hand and placed it on Ai’s shoulder. “There’s no need to get yourself in a tizzy. I’m sure if you ask, Councilman Tarrlok’s Council Page will help you. You’ve seen him around, I’m sure. His name is Ping?” Ai nodded, as she _had_ seen the nervous, gray-haired man around before, but now had another question. “What’s the difference between an assistant and a Council Page?” 

“Honestly, the hours. You work from nine to five while Ping works around the clock. If you work hard enough, maybe you’ll get promoted.” The older woman winked. _‘Yeah. Not while I’m still breathing.’_ Ai thought. While she was glad half of the wages were going to her, this still wasn’t her kind of job. 

The next day, Ping showed her the ropes. Which files meant what and which cabinets took which files, and so on. As the whole subject of files was dreadfully boring, Ai thought she would make some conversation. “So, Ping, what’s it like working for Councilman Tarrlok?” His nose still stuck in a file, he replied, “It has its ups and downs. The Councilman is a very busy man therefore _I’m_ busy, but he’s always been very nice and charming - he’s never been short with me.” He spoke at an anxious pace as he perused the file and stuck in the cabinet closest to him. “Why do you ask?” 

“Oh, no, I’m just curious. I bumped into him the other day when going in for my interview and now that we got the chance to talk I just thought I’d ask.”

Ping suddenly looked around, surveying his surroundings, and leaned in close. “Don’t tell anyone I said this, but be careful around Tarrlok. He can be a bit of a flirt and you’re very pretty.” Ai blushed at the sudden compliment and chuckled. “Well, uh, thank you, Ping. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out. Thanks for letting me know.”

Ai ended up spending every day passing out in her apartment between work and her assignment passing out flyers. She ended up looking forward to her next meeting with Amon. Sure, it was all good and fun hanging out with Toga, but it was nice having something to divide her time up. She felt herself smile in the passenger seat in Toga’s van, as she finally felt she was getting around to feeling comfortable around her leader. She felt she never would.

During their next meeting, now joined with two cups of jasmine tea, they spoke of City Hall and Ai’s assignment. Unfortunately, there wasn’t very much to report on Ai’s end. She felt guilty, but also knew it technically wasn’t her fault. It was odd that it had been a week and nothing had been done about the Equalists yet. “Toga has told me that you don’t have your driver’s license,” Amon suddenly spoke. Ai nodded after sipping on her tea and eyed him questioningly. “Why do you bring that up? Trying to make fun of me?” Amon grinned at her attempt at a joke and sat his cup down. “Nothing of the sort, Ai,” Although she could only see his mouth, she could tell his expression became stern. “We no longer need protesters in the streets. The people have chosen their sides -“ He pulls a loose cigarette from his pocket and lights a match. “I’m asking of the state of your driver’s license because I was hoping I could give you a motorcycle.” Ai slammed her hands on the table they shared - he didn’t flinch - and leaned closer to him excitedly. “I get my own motorcycle?! That’s awesome! And also terrifying! But awesome!” Suddenly, Amon’s lieutenant busted through the door. “Amon! Is everything alright?!” 

“Liang! I’m getting a motorcycle!” 

“A what?”

“A motorcycle!”

“But you can’t drive!”

Ai jumped up and clung to Liang’s neck, wrapping him in a tight hug. Unknown to Ai, the goggled Lieutenant peered up at Amon, not knowing what to do. Amon gestured to the woman as if to say, “hug her, you idiot, she’s your friend!” Liang returned the hug by wrapping his arms around the small of her back. She pulled away to face him and gave a giant smile. “I’m excited for you, except for the fact that I think you’re gonna get yourself killed.” Ai laughed and patted a palm on his cheek. “I think you underestimate me, Lieutenant.” They removed their arms from each other and Ai saluted before Liang exited the room again. “I see you and my Lieutenant are getting close,” Amon said. “Yeah, he’s actually pretty cool for a war machine,” Ai replied. While Ai obviously saw him as a friend, Amon couldn’t deny the blood he felt rise in the Lieutenant’s cheeks when hugging the woman. As Ai sat back down in her seat, Amon brought up her driver’s license once again. “There is a driving track underground,” He told her. “Some people will be there that I’m sure you’ll be pleased to see.” Ai’s eyes widened excitedly, but she was still confused. “Really? Who?”

“Pao!! Jishin!! I missed you guys!” Ai’s voice echoed harshly through the metal underground driving track. They were all dressed in their chi-blocker garb, something Ai wasn’t used to, and she threw her arms around her two friends. “When did you two become chi-blockers?!” Pao grinned, and Ai noticed she was missing her right lateral incisor. “Well, after _someone_ showed me up in front of Amon, I had to kick a few people’s asses to climb up the ranks. Including his -“ She nods her dead to Jishin. “-and lost a tooth in the process. Thanks a lot, sister.” Ai feels her shoulders slump. “I’m sorry, Pao, I didn’t know.” Pao’s eyes widen and she places both her hand on Ai’s shoulders. “Woah, woah, woah, I ain’t mad. I don’t care you did that - I’m a chi-blocker now! That’s all that matters!” The green-eyed woman smiles and wraps her arms around the other. “I’m happy to see you, Pao.” She eyes the Water Tribe boy and slinks her arms around him as well. “You too, Jishin. I’m glad you didn’t forget what I said.” After the two pulled away, Jishin wore a large grin on his face and he said, “I made sure I didn’t, and look where it got me!” Ai was happy to see him in such high spirits. She finally noticed Toga and arrived at his side. “Oh! You guys, this is Toga. I’ve been working with him since I joined the Equalists.” 

“Oh, we know. He trained with us before movin’ on up the ranks.” Pao raised a pointed finger at the ceiling. “He, uh, also told us about how you were a bender.” Ai shoved her face into Toga’s and growled, “You did what?” 

“Ai, don’t worry about it! Toga told us _why_ you did it. That’s all that matters to us,” Jishin explained. Ai removed herself from Toga’s personal space and fixed her posture. “I see. Sorry, Toga.” He chuckles. “It’s no problem.” 

“Did you, uh, tell them the back story, or?”

“No, I told them it was personal.”

“Okay, cool, cool.”

Pao cut in. “How about you share that with us over a couple of drinks? At Mo’s Bistro? His Chicken dumplings are to _die_ for.” Ai smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.” Suddenly, the brunette threw a pair of keys at Ai, which she almost dropped. “Let’s get you on a motorcycle.” 

After riding on the back with Pao for a bit, Ai began riding on her own. It took some getting used to - driving and balancing at the same time. _‘It’s almost like riding a bike, except it’s big and scary.’_ She realized. Eventually, she got the hang of it and was driving like a pro. Well, not a pro, but she was driving well enough. On her last lap, she let herself feel the wind pass through her as she drove, the roar of the motor ring in her ears. When she stopped at the starting line, she almost had to float back down to earth. “That was great, Ai! You’re doing better than I did after this amount of time!” Pao was hopping up and down, clapping. Ai tugged her leg over the motorcycle and upon pulling her helmet off, took a theatrical bow. They disbanded and returned to their homes, excited to change and meet at the restaurant. Especially Ai. It had been years since she had friends and even longer that she had met with any.

As she changed into a pair of some of her nicer clothes, she heard her telephone ring. A quick list of who it could be ran through her head as she approached it. Well, it could only be two people, either Councilwoman Takara or her publisher. Or perhaps Amon, if he had gotten ahold of her number. Upon answering the phone, she got her answer: it was Councilwoman Takara. “Ai, I’m so sorry to call you this late, but Ping seems to be taking his time getting here. It’s been an hour already. All you have to do is type a transcript of our meeting and file it in its respective cabinet. It hopefully shouldn’t take long. Tarrlok - ahem - _Councilman_ Tarrlok has a proposition to make and that should be the end of the meeting. Should only be an hour.” Ai’s heart sunk. Finally, a time to spend with friends and now it’s ruined. “I’ll be right there,” She answered simply. She said her goodbyes and hung up. She felt guilty at the inability to contact her friends at all but hoped they would understand. She would explain tomorrow, but for now, she had to rush to work. Luckily, she didn’t have to change. 

Arriving at the colorful concrete building, Ai rushed in to find all five council members sitting in their seats. She felt immediately intimidated, their stern looks boring through her. “Ah, Ms. Hashimoto, it’s so good to see you. We have a typewriter set up for you right there,” Councilman Tarrlok gestured to a typewriter set up at the first bench to the Council’s left and Ai wondered why Councilwoman Takara didn’t greet her first. As Ai took a seat, Councilman Tarrlok fully turned his body to face her. “You’re a published author, isn’t that correct, Ms. Hashimoto?” The woman nodded, a pang of anxiety shooting through her chest. She didn’t understand why she had grown anxious, as it was normal to be recognized, but she felt this somehow blew her cover. “Then this should be a breeze for you.” 

Typing the transcript was easy, but stressful. Any mistake and there would be Hell to pay. Ai found that she eventually found herself barely listening, and found herself drifting off and wondering what her friends were doing. She felt a little silly doing so, but she was bored! Until Tarrlok mentioned a task force to take down the Equalists. Now that was something worth listening to. Ai nearly stopped typing, but knew stopping the sound of the clacking keyboard would alert the Council. She attempted to calm her breathing, reassuring herself that the meeting will be over soon. Once the meeting was over, Ai dashed to the filing room, nearly haphazardly throwing the file into the cabinet. Exiting the room she, once again, bumped into Councilman Tarrlok. Physically, this time. “Oh, pardon me,” Tarrlok half-chuckled. “No, it was my fault, I was rushing -“

“In a hurry?”

“W-Well, not _particularly_ , I just… No. Guess I’m just antsy to get out of here.” She giggled nervously before mentally sucker-punching herself. ‘ _Why didn’t you tell him you had friends waiting for you?! They’re probably still at the restaurant!’_ Tarrlok shifted closer to Ai, not uncomfortably close, and offered, “Why don’t I buy you a drink? I’m sure a new job in an environment such as this is sure to leave someone… stressed.” He _stressed_ that last syllable as he inched closer to her face. She stood there frozen. ‘ _If I reject his offer, he might think something is up. He_ did _discuss the Equalists today. Could he see my posture change? Fuck it. A drink won’t hurt.’_ Despite what she thought, Ping’s warning echoed in her mind. She avoided physically shaking her head to rid her of the thought and showed off a smile. “Sure, I’ll go for a drink.” 


	7. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Councilman Tarrlok invites Ai to a bar. She doesn't want to admit that it's obviously a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a double-dose, folks. Thank the caffeine coursing through my veins.

Tarrlok ended up taking Ai to a more high-end bar on the northern end of the city. It was an awkward ride in his Satomobile, but Tarrlok didn’t seem to mind it. He was busy asking her about where she grew up, and what was the most recent novel she wrote, (He knew she was an author, he just “didn’t get around to reading them yet”) and where she liked to eat. Ai would’ve liked to think he was just being kind, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what Ping said. Besides, a man taking a woman out for a drink said something for itself, didn’t it? But sure, let’s say he was just being nice. That seemed to be the thought process that kept Ai the calmest. 

When she told him she spent the majority of her childhood in the Northern Water Tribe, he thought she was lying at first. Once she explained that she was adopted, that seems to smooth things over pretty quickly. After learning this, Tarrlok quickly began quizzing Ai on her favorite things from home. 

Favorite dish? “Oh, definitely my mom’s seaweed stew. I would specifically pick out the little pieces of arctic hen until she yelled at me.”

Favorite snack? “Oh, kale cookies for sure.”

Did your mother crochet like mine did? “She was more into painting and pottery.” 

Is there anything you miss from the Earth Kingdom? “Uh…” 

The conversation became quiet after that, the tension in the vehicle thickening. Tarrlok quickly realized the mistake he just made and cleared his throat. “My… apologies. I assume that was rather a tough time for you. I won’t bring it up again.”

Ai shook her head and turned to face him for the first time since they entered the Satomobile. “No, it’s okay, it was just… unexpected. There’s only one thing I miss from the Earth Kingdom, but I don’t feel comfortable bringing it up at the moment.” Tarrlok nodded in understanding and the rest of the ride was quiet, but a comfortable kind of quiet. 

The interior was dimly lit and sleek. The bar itself was a dark polished wood. The older man led her to a booth not far from the bar and sat across from her. “Do you come here often, Tarrlok?” He raised a brow at her and smirked. “Are you trying to use a pick-up line on me?” Ai pursed her lips and froze, realizing that there’s a history attached to the phrase she just spoke. Nevertheless, she laughed. “I completely forgot that’s what that meant. I was legitimately asking if you come here often.” 

“I do come here from time to time to relax.”

Surveying what she could see from the booth, as the booth was draped in a velvet blue curtain, the walls were lined with what seemed the same velvet blue material underneath dimly lit lamps. It was very… Tarrlok. Elegant but sultry. Her eyes made their way back to Tarrlok to see he was surveying something of his own - the menu. This caused her to pick up her own menu and look through it. All the drinks had very fancy names, but there were a few she recognized as being from the North Pole. She ordered something in which she had barely skimmed the ingredients and waited for Tarrlok to finish ordering for himself. 

And here came the question she was dreading: “Ms. Hashimoto, how do  _ you  _ feel about these Equalists running amok in our city?” Ai breathed carefully through her dread and answered as truthfully as she could. “I sympathize with them, as I see where they’re coming from, but I don’t believe in the way they are acting on it.” This was true, technically. Unfortunately, she had a debt to repay. Tarrlok tapped his index finger rhythmically on the table between them, his eyes softly shut. “I see.” Ai sat there for a moment, nervously awaiting what he was going to say - but he didn’t get to say anything as their drinks were served, She quickly took a sip to get out of the conversation for at least a split second. She… liked it. A lot. She eyed the ingredients and realized they weren’t too half-bad. Some plum, cranberries, gin… It was good. What were they talking about? Oh yes, she was being interrogated on being an Equalist. 

“I admire your honesty,” Tarrlok spoke after taking a sip of his white wine. “Most would quickly agree to negate all suspicion.”I’m not like most people,” She smirked. They sat in silence for a bit, nursing their drinks. “What do you think of what I proposed earlier? About the task force?” Ai didn’t expect a question such as this. Was he showing insecurity? Or was he trying to catch her again? “I think it’s a good idea. You never know where they could be. Or who.” She winked playfully, hoping a joke would further negate his suspicion. He chuckled a small bit, and Ai sighed internally, thinking it possibly worked. They chatted about other things for a while before realizing it had become a bit late, and they both had work tomorrow. Tarrlok offered to drop Ai off at her home, at which Ai agreed, as it would make no sense as well as poke at his suspicions if she had him drop her off at City Hall. Once they made it to the brown and burgundy building, he walked her to the door. This made her a bit nervous, but as long as it wasn’t her apartment door, she was safe. “I had a pleasant evening, Ai. You made for a more interesting companion than I thought.” Was that a compliment? She took it anyway. “Same to you. I enjoyed having someone to chat about home with,” Ai replied. It was true. She hadn’t talked about home in a long time. They shared each other’s gaze for a few seconds and Tarrlok leaned in closer.  _ ‘Wait, what-’  _ She found herself closing the gap between them as if she were on auto-pilot.  _ ‘Wait, no, fuck - whatareyoudoing-’  _ Their lips met for a second until Ai nervously pulled away. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t-” She cut herself off. Tarrlok chuckled quietly and said, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Ai.” He pulled closer to her again and they met in a full kiss that Ai found herself melting into. She cursed herself for doing so, but she hadn’t kissed someone in a long time. During her time on Kyoshi Island, she only had a boyfriend or two. Plus the one Kyoshi Warrior she had a crush on that didn’t lead anywhere. But he was here, and he was handsome and charming and a politician and a Councilman and had just created a task force to take out the group she was a part of. She decided to end the kiss before anyone could see them and rubbed her hands together. “Um, thank you for tonight. I had fun.” Tarrlok nodded in reply. They said their goodbyes and Ai entered her apartment building in which the desk clerk looked at her worriedly after she had smacked herself in the head with her hand. “Are you okay, Ms. Hashimoto?” 

“No.”

Over the next few days, she tried to avoid him as much as possible. She didn’t want it to be awkward and she was afraid it was going to become some kind of raunchy office affair thing. She cringed at the thought while filing papers, but luckily she realized he wasn’t there nearly as often as he usually was. That definitely made the days go by quicker. After work one day, she ran into Toga and the others and explained why she couldn’t make their previous meet-up. Ai left quite a few details out but promised in her head that she would tell them when they got to the restaurant. They all hopped in Toga’s van and chatted until they got there. Pao had joked about letting Ai drive, and Toga quickly dismissed the idea - joke or not. Ai was definitely the quietest and the other took notice, but she simply explained she had a  _ lot  _ to tell at the restaurant. 

It was a quaint little place, brightly lit - a contrast to the bar Tarrlok brought Ai to on their, uh,  _ date _ ? ‘ _ It ended with a kiss, I have to admit it was a date.’  _ She thought, walking behind her friends as they trailed her to a booth. As soon as they all sat down and ordered, they all looked at the ravenette. “Ai, you’ve been awfully quiet. What’s been bugging you?” She took a moment before speaking. “Is it… alright to say what’s been going on?” Pao blinked for a moment, then laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. This is an Equalist joint. Mo’s got our backs.” She nodded to Mo behind the bar and he nodded back. “See?” Ai raised her brows then nodded. Then, everything came spilling out about the task force and the date. Well, she didn’t call it a date. And she left out the kiss. “Waitwaitwaitwaitwait- a task force? Does Amon know?” Ai nodded, not wanting to go into detail. She didn’t want to face Amon and tell him about the whole bar situation, so she had Toga report it for her. She’ll work up the courage to tell him at their next meeting. Fishing giggled into his noodles and looked up at Ai. “And you went on a date with Councilman Tarrlok?” Ai felt her face blush wildly, and her friends laughed at her. Pao elbowed Jishin and asked, “They’d have cute babies, don’t you think?” Ai choked on her drink. “Yeah, bet they’d be benders.” They all laughed again and Ai waved her hands wildly in the air. “Guys, shut up!” 

Pao leaned onto the table, closer. “Soo… Did you invite him up to your apartment?” Toga snorted and Ai covered her face. Her voice was muffled, but she shouted, “Don’t say something like that!” The clamor died down a bit and Ai’s guilt got too much to bear. “Guys… I… I kissed him.” 

Everyone stopped eating. She swore she heard the squeaking of Mo cleaning his glass stop. “You what…?” Toga turned to fully face her. “Ai,” Jishin spoke quietly. “Wait, you made out with the politician trying to get at us? Damn. I think I’d rather you fucked him,” Pao spoke. “I agree with Pao,” A voice came in out of nowhere. It was Mo. “ _ No one asked you to chime in, Mo,”  _ Ai growled. “And guys, it was just a reflex. I don’t actually like him.”

“Are you sure?” Pao was suddenly serious. “Because you’d know that’d be detrimental.” Ai stared down at her hands. “He’s very handsome and charismatic. And he reminds me of home. He got into my head, that’s all.” Everyone nodded, seemingly believing her. Suddenly, the sound of a radio chimed in. The announcer spoke of a new task force formed by Councilman Tarrlok and that it had just captured several Equalists from the basement of a bookstore. “Oh, spirits,” Jishin muttered. “We gotta go,” Toga announced. They all jumped up from their booth, quickly paid, and made their way to the bookstore. On their way, they saw lights coming from City Hall and could hear a booming voice coming from a microphone from inside. “That’s Avatar Korra’s voice,” Jishin spoke up from the back seat. Toga made a quick turn and parked out front. “How are we going to get inside? They’re only allowing reporters in,” Pao said. “Let’s just sit out front. Maybe we can hear bits and pieces,” Toga suggested. “Just turn on the radio. They’re probably broadcasting,” Ai said. Listening intently to the Avatar’s words, they tensed. She had challenged Amon to a one-on-one duel, and the four sitting in that van knew she was going to lose. When Avatar Korra’s little speech was finished, the four eyed each other with the same expression. “I’m gonna head back to HQ,” Toga finally spoke. Pao and Jishin said they would too. When Ai tried to join them, Toga said, “Ai, you don’t have to worry about this, you already have a major assignment. Head home and get some rest. Your friends will take care of this for ya.’ He gave her a warm smile. Ai was slightly torn after hearing this. She was excited for the action that would ensue, but also found herself extremely tired. They parted ways after Toga dropped her off at home and she suddenly hoped they didn’t think any less of her for what she told them at dinner. ‘ _ If Toga meant what he said, I have nothing to fear.’  _ She thought. 

Soon, she was getting ready for bed when there was a knock at her door. A lump suddenly popped in her throat, hoping it wasn’t somehow Tarrlok. She crept to her door and looked through the peephole to see a masked man. Amon. She quickly opened the door with wide, nervous eyes and exclaimed,  _ “What are you doing here?! _ Don’t you know how dangerous it is to-” Amon cut her off by entering her apartment. She quickly shut the door and turned to him. “Amon, sir, if I get found out-”

“You won’t get found out. I promise.” This was somehow calming, and she felt at ease. It seemed to be that phrase  _ I promise. _ Something personal from Amon, for once. He held a sleek, black box - similar to the one Ai bought Nikko a few weeks ago, except it was much bigger. ‘ _ Spirits, that feels like ages ago.’  _ Amon handed the box to Ai, and she accepted it graciously. “What is it?” 

“Open it.”

Upon opening the box were two black, metal fans - the red sun imprinted on them. Unlike the ones Ai was used to, they were attached to rubber handles about the size of her hands. She gasped. “Amon… these are amazing. Are these Equalist brand Kyoshi Warrior fans?” He nodded. “Precisely. I’m glad you’ve taken a liking to them. They’re yours.” Ai wore a huge smile on her face and took one from their velvet casing. “What are the handles for? I know how to hold them without.” She realized there was a button where her index finger lay and pushed it. Electric sparks covered the metal fan and she flinched. “Oh, these  _ are  _ Equalist fans. Amon, thank you - very much, but why give these to me?” Amon turned to face away from her and took a few steps. “I want you to accompany me along with a group of other chi-blockers to the Avatar’s little duel tonight. Prove yourself, and you will be promoted to lieutenant.” Ai’s mouth hung open and she quickly corrected it. “What about Liang?”

“He’ll retain his position. You will be working alongside him.”

She continued to stare at the fans for an absurd amount of time before speaking again. “I-I don’t deserve this… these. There have been others who have been Equalists for far longer than I, and I’m barely an Equalist to begin with. Why me?” Amon seemed to be struck with something, and he took her hands in his. His hands were warm, and she suddenly felt at peace again. “I chose you because you own a potential few others possess.”


	8. The Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was an ambush at Avatar Aang Memorial Island tonight. I wonder who did it?

As her leader held her hands in his, she looked at him with a determined expression. “Yes, sir.” She could vaguely see his eyes through his mask. They stayed that way for a few moments, that comfortable feeling staying even after they parted. “A new uniform was brought to your apartment earlier today - dress and we’ll be on our way.” Ai nodded and made her way into the kitchen after being told the uniform was on her kitchen table. After disappearing into her washroom to change, Amon took his time studying his surroundings. He had never been in her apartment before, despite knowing where it is. He took a few steps toward the photographs that adorned the east wall of the living room. They were of Ai and an older Water Tribe couple. This intrigued him, as he only saw her with  _ them  _ and no one else - not even anyone that resembled her. One photo was of her decked out in Kyoshi makeup and attire holding a certificate, once again surrounded by the older couple. He assumed they must have some serious significance in her life with the obvious absence of her biological parents. There was another photo he noticed - one that was noticeably more far off from the rest of the photos. The darkness of the room cascaded over the photo leaving only a little girl visible. Amon deducted it was Ai, as she  _ did  _ have green eyes the same shade as her older self. It was too dark to see the rest of the figures in the photo and Amon mindlessly lit a match from one of his pockets and held it close. Above Ai was the same couple, though much younger, and to Ai’s right was a Water Tribe girl that seemed around the same age as her at the time. The masked man felt his stomach churn slightly at the realization there were no other photos of this girl and assumed the worst. Hearing the door to the washroom open, he turned - quickly putting out the match. He didn’t want her to catch him snooping, after all. 

Her new uniform was reminiscent of that of a Kyoshi Warrior’s attire but was tailored from grays and blacks instead of a variety of greens. She didn’t have to shift around in a long skirt either, as that was replaced with pants that thinned out at the knees. The sleeves were different as well, as they were baggy at the shoulders but thinned at the elbows, the same as the pants. The uniform also did away with the fan-inspired headband in favor of a hood similar in shape to that of Amon’s, though she was also given a headcloth with clasps to keep it in place. The only difference between her hood and Amon’s was that the red sun was sewn into her forehead. The same was done with the cloth mask that covered the bottom half of her face and neck, in which Amon’s character was sewn where her mouth would be. The Equalists’ signature goggles were placed neatly, the color of her eyes blending nicely with the glass. 

“It suits you well,” Amon noted. From what he could see, Ai’s face reddened at the compliment. The corners of her eyes crinkled from a smile and she replied with a ‘thank you.’ They eventually exited the apartment through the fire escape and into the alleyway to the right side of the building. Toga was waiting there, leaning his back up against the back of his van. Upon noticing the two figures coming closer, he jumped up and opened the back. Amon jumped in with no hesitation, and Ai would’ve followed if Toga hadn’t closed the back immediately. With a small pout, Ai circled the vehicle to the passenger seat and hopped inside. Toga entered as soon as she did and quickly took notice of her new uniform. “Nice get-up! You get promoted or something?” Toga was half-joking, Ai could tell. “Yes, actually. To Lieutenant,” She answered smugly. Toga had to keep from swerving, especially with his leader in the back. “You were promoted to  _ lieutenant _ ?! W-What about Liang?” 

“I’m working with him.”

“And who made  _ that  _ decision?!”

“Our  _ leader,  _ who’s sitting in the back, if you’ve already forgotten.”

Toga visibly tensed and eyed the masked man in the rear-view mirror. “S-Sorry, sir.” 

“You’re forgiven, but I made my choice. I promoted Ms. Hashimoto for a reason.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

The rest of the drive was uncomfortably quiet. Once they had made it into the tunnels, the echoes of the motor stung in her ears. It felt like a weight was lifted off of Ai’s shoulders when they had made it to HQ. She hopped out of the Satomobile excitedly but quickly corrected herself as this was a serious mission she was being brought to work on. Toga opened the back and Amon swiftly exited, making his way towards the bustle of chi-blockers awaiting his orders. Remembering that she was now a lieutenant, she rushed to his side and stood nearby when he gave a small run-down of what was to transpire that evening on Avatar Aang Memorial Island. He was to set up a group of chi-blockers in the museum underneath the statue to attack Korra when she least expected it. Hearing this made Ai slightly nervous, as the worst-case scenario would be her going toe-to-toe with the Avatar. Was she prepared for that? Was she ready? Liang fought against her after the rally and suffered a few injuries, but none of them were life-threatening. 

When Amon was done speaking, two chi-blockers ran up to Ai. She smirked at this, as it reminded her of two children she saw running up to their mother while in the van. They revealed themselves to be Pao and Jishin after removing their masks. “Nice outfit, sis. Where’d you get it?” 

“I was promoted to Lieutenant. I work alongside Liang now.”

The other two’s jaws dropped to the floor. “Ai, that’s awesome! Isn’t it, Pao?” 

The brunette crossed her arms and smiled weakly. “Yeah… Awesome.” Suddenly, Toga caught up to the group. As they talked with each other for a bit, Ai could hear whispers around them from the other chi-blockers. ‘ _ Probably about me, I suppose. _ ’ She thought. Jishin had Ai do a little twirl to show off her uniform and they all laughed. “Alright, back to your posts. Amon wants you all on high alert tonight,” A voice cut in. It was the  _ other  _ Lieutenant. The three saluted and laughed again to themselves as they slipped away. 

Liang stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. “Ai, what the hell are you wearing?” She tossed an elbow on his right shoulder and pulled her mask down. “You’re looking at your new partner in crime, Liang. I was promoted tonight.” His eyes widened. “You’re a Lieutenant? You just got here!” This slightly confirmed Ai’s fears and she looked away sadly. Liang noticed this and backpedaled as fast as he could. “Either way, I’m glad you were promoted. That shows Amon trusts you. That means I do too.” Ai turned her frown into a smile and pulled on the strap of his goggles. “What, you mean you didn’t trust me before?” She soon stopped after he told her ‘that hurts’ a few times. “So, what did he give you?” Ai paused and looked at him questioningly. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, he gave me these-“ Liang whips out his kali sticks and places them at his sides. “I would’ve assumed he gave you something.” Ai’s brows rose and she ducked her hand behind her into her waistband. “Oh, you mean  _ these _ ?” She tossed one of her fans into her opposite hand and unsheathed them at her sides. “I thought your uniform reminded me of the Kyoshi Warriors, but I didn’t think Amon was going for a theme,” Liang joked. Ai giggled and pushed him. “I trained on Kyoshi Island for a few years. That’s the only reason my outfit is Kyoshi inspired.” 

“Hmm,” Liang rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Interesting that your uniform is based on a previous Avatar. Got something you want to tell me, Ai?”

“What? That I’m a spy?”

“Not a very good one, obviously.”

“Shut up.”

They laughed and soon joined Amon in his office. It was deadly quiet until Amon turned to face them and began to speak. “Liang, I won’t be needing you on this mission.” Liang tensed but bowed. “Yes, sir,” was all he said before exiting the room. “This mission is going to be very dangerous. Isn’t it wise to bring Liang with?”

“It is a simple ambush. I’d be surprised if  _ you _ would have to do any fighting. Remember, I am simply sending a message to the Avatar.”

Ai calmed herself, as she did see his point. Soon after their conversation, Amon led her outside to a truck, similar in shape to Toga’s. “We will all travel inside of the van until we reach the docks. When we reach the docks, there will be a submarine waiting for us,” He explained. ‘ _ A submarine? Where the hell is he getting this stuff? _ ’ That was beside the point for the time being, and Ai entered the truck behind her leader. It was larger than what she was used to and was able to house many chi-blockers. The ride seemed to take forever, as her nerves were through the roof. Each time the truck slowed, so did her heart, but she could tell when they eventually came to a complete stop. There was a knock on the window separating the driver’s seat from the back and they all exited one-by-one. There definitely  _ was  _ a submarine waiting for them at the docks, much to Ai’s disbelief. They all hopped in fearlessly, and Ai felt a lump in her throat when it was her turn to jump. It was graceful, thankfully.

The latch closed and they sank into Yue Bay. Ai had never experienced this before, being in a giant machine underwater. After getting used to it, it was quite nice. It could’ve been peaceful if they weren’t on a mission to ambush the Avatar. They circled around the giant statue of Avatar Aang and slowly, but quietly released the hatch. Everyone climbed out as quiet as possible, and Ai could hear her heart pounding in her temples. She wondered if anyone else could hear it too. They set up in the museum and waited. They had already gotten there pretty late, knowing the young Avatar would get tired and leave. And they were right. A yawn echoed through the dark building and footsteps emerged. A figure came into view and that’s when someone knew to strike. They threw a bola and took down the young Avatar quickly, dragging her towards the group of chi-blockers. She sent out a wall of fire, seemingly to light her surroundings, but she didn’t have long before more chi-blockers approached her and took her out. 

They pulled Korra up from her knees and faced her towards Amon. Ai felt pity pool in her stomach. The fear in the Avatar’s eyes was palpable, and she wondered if anyone else could feel it as strongly as she did. She wondered if Amon felt it at all. He wrapped his hand around the girl’s face and told her that their meeting was premature. Ai was barely listening to what else he had to say. All she could focus on was the giant, blue eyes encasing the true meaning of fear on this poor girl’s face. Amon eventually knocked her out, and they left her there on the floor. Ai almost asked if she could bring her home, but she thought it best not to. They returned to HQ, were dismissed, and she returned to her apartment. As she got ready for bed, she couldn’t stop thinking about the Avatar and how scared she was. She couldn’t stop thinking about it when she was supposed to be sleeping either.

The next day, Ai felt she could barely stand at work. Tarrlok was actually there, which was added stress on her part. She still tried to avoid him, as clumsily as it may have been. He ended up catching her in the file room, and while Ai didn’t mean to show fear, she could feel every muscle in her body tense. “Ai, it’s so good to see you. I apologize for being absent for so long. How have you been?” Ai’s face was buried in the file cabinet drawer. “I’ve been doing fine,” She answered simply. She realized how simple this answer was and felt a bit guilty. “I heard your task force caught some Equalists. That must have been exciting.” What better distraction than to stroke Tarrlok’s ego? “Ah, yes, it was very exciting. Avatar Korra did an excellent job.” This sent a pang of guilt through Ai’s chest, the image of the frightened Avatar flashing through her mind. “I wanted to ask you, are you busy? I was thinking of inviting you to dinner tonight.” That snapped her out of it. She shot up, almost bumping her head off the cabinet, and giggled nervously. “Um, Tarrlok - er,  _ Councilman  _ Tarrlok, I have to tell you something. Uh… I really enjoyed our time together, but I don’t think it’s going to work out. You see, I more so got caught up in the moment, and I’m very sorry that I sent you mixed signals like that-“ Tarrlok dismissed her with the raising of his hand. “Say no more. I completely understand. Though, I hope we can still be friends,” He smiled. Ai replied with a smile of her own and nodded. “I’d like that.” 

The rest of the day went rather well, especially when Ai remembered one of her meetings with Amon was that night. She felt a tad nervous telling him about Tarrlok, but what was there to be nervous about? They broke it off. Whatever  _ it  _ was. She was excited to just relax and spend time with him. She could tell they were becoming closer and that delighted her - it being a stark contrast to how she felt about him at first. When their meeting began, they sat in a comfortable silence until Amon began to speak. 

“I saw the photos on the wall of your apartment. I didn’t see any family, but I saw a Water Tribe couple. Were you close with them?” Ai froze, not expecting this kind of question from Amon. It seems this was his starting attempt at getting to know her better. “They are my adopted parents. I moved to the North Pole when I was five-years-old. They’re all I’ve had since my parents were killed.” That last part slipped out. This seemed to intrigue Amon, as his whole body was facing Ai now. “What happened to your parents?” Ai was surprised that there was no “if you don’t mind me asking” at the end of that question, but maybe it was because he felt she’d tell him anyway. “My mom was a feeble, complacent woman. She was always too frightened to do anything about my dad. He would treat my brother and I like soldiers and nothing more. It was obvious he didn’t love us. No father would hit you for holding the wrong earthbending form,” Ai was beginning to ramble a bit. “My brother, his friend, and I were doing our usual ‘stealing bread’ routine when we heard our names being shouted from within the woods. It was our father. Our village was being run by a corrupt military group, and he hadn’t paid them on time.” She was gripping the throat of her mask now, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. “They executed him right in front of us. They broke into our hut and did the same to my mom. They would’ve done the same to us if we hadn’t gotten away.” Ai cradled her face in her hands and began to cry. She felt a hand grip hers, and calmed a bit. “My father… wasn’t the best either,” Amon spoke quietly. “He treated  _ my  _ brother and I nearly identically. I’m sorry to hear that happened to someone else. Someone I care about.” Ai wiped her tears. “You care about me?”

“Of course I do. You mean a lot to me, Ai,” Amon paused for a second. “All of my followers do. But I see myself in you, and that’s something that the rest of them lack.”


	9. The Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Equalists attack the Pro-Bending Arena.

Ai and Amon sat in comfortable silence for a little while longer until Ai spoke up this time. “I think I might be promoted to Council Page soon. Councilwoman Takara asked me about it the other day.” Amon took a sip of his tea. “But what about our meetings? I look forward to them and it would be unfortunate to have to cancel,” She said. “I’ll think of something,” Amon replied. “It shouldn’t be too difficult.” The woman paused for a moment, almost freezing. ‘ _ Should I tell him about Tarrlok _ ?  _ I mean, it’s over now, so why does it matter _ ?’ She decided against it, as she thought that the conversation would only make the two uncomfortable. 

A few days later, she was promoted to Council Page. She wasn’t really excited about it at all - sure, an increase in pay was nice, but she still had her royalties. The other half was going to the Equalists anyway. Ping sure was excited for her, though. She assumed he was glad to finally have someone to talk to during those late nights of filing. She was sure she would, too. The first couple days dragged relentlessly, seeming to last forever. ‘ _ How does he do it _ ?’ She thought. Ping told her this was normal and it would cease eventually. “Just how long will that take?”

“A few weeks.”

‘ _ Ugh. _ ’

One late night, Amon dragged her and Liang into her office. He had a blueprint of the interior of the Pro-Bending Arena placed over his world map. “This is where we will hit next,” He announced. “The tournament is in a few days. That is when we’ll strike.” He explained his plan so that Liang and Ai could go over it with a group of chi-blockers at a later date. “They will be placed in the crowd in civilian clothing, and having been given electrified gloves, they will take out any police guarding the interior of the arena.” Liang and Ai tossed each other a look before Liang spoke up. “How do you know the arena will be guarded?”

“They will do anything to protect their precious benders.” 

_ Finally _ , something for Ai to look forward to that wasn’t filing papers or conversations with Ping. The days went by quickly, and before she knew it, she was briefing a medium-sized group of chi-blockers. Luckily, this included her friends, which made her less nervous. 

The briefing went fairly well. No stuttering or having to repeat her words. Maybe this came from her book readings? Either way, she felt good about it. She got pats on the back from her friends - well, two - and began to make her way to Liang when she was called over by another group of unmasked chi-blockers. “Hey,  _ new  _ Lieutenant, why don’t you join us?” Ai was a bit nervous but took his invitation. They were all sitting at a round tin table, lounging lazily- a contrast to Ai’s stiff form. She took a seat and removed her goggles and pulled down her mask. “Wait,” one of the women sitting at the table said. “I’ve seen you around here before. You haven’t been here long.” Ai felt her body tense even more and the woman chuckled. “You some kind of superhuman? You must be if Amon promoted you that quick.” They all laughed - except Ai - and the woman next to her tossed a cup her way. “Here, have a drink. It’s a little tradition we do the night before a big mission.” Ai obliged and took a sip and was thankful that it was alcohol she was used to - gin. Except it was much stronger when not mixed amongst other things like cranberries. “Okay, so I’ve  _ got  _ to ask,” The woman who tossed Ai the drink cut in. “Are you and Liang, like, a thing? I’ve just seen you touching on him a lot.” Ai almost choked on her next sip of gin and burst into laughter. “No, no, we’re just friends. I just like getting on his nerves.” This earned some chuckles and grins from the group until the other woman asked, “What about Amon?” Ai froze at the indication but chose to play dumb. “What about him?” She took a cautious sip of her gin. “We all know about your little dates.”

“They’re not dates. They’re meetings.” Ai tried to keep her voice as stable as possible. “Over tea?” The man who called her over joined in. “All we do is talk about work,” Ai laughed, hoping to decrease their suspicion. Which worked, because they ended up laughing with her. Thankfully, she noticed Liang walking nearby and called to him. “Liang! Join us!” He crossed his arms. “No. We don’t need  _ two  _ drunk Lieutenants.” Ai pouted and resorted to a ‘come hither’ motion with her finger. Liang reluctantly obliged and walked up to the table. She held the alcohol up to his lips - well, more like pushed the cup into his face. “Take a sip.” 

“No, I’m not taking a sip.”

“Just a little sippy.”

“ _ No.” _

“Take a fuckin’  _ sip. _ ” 

Liang snatched the tin cup from Ai’s hand and took a swig. He scrunched his nose and said, “This is disgusting.” Ai cradled her face in her hands. “I can’t believe you hate me. We’re not friends anymore.” Everyone laughed at that. 

The next day comes, and the vibe is very different. No drinking, no joking, no talking with friends - unless you count giving orders. It was go-time. The decoys were already sent out, and the game had started. Ai was now in Amon’s blimp, her back muscles aching from how tense they were. The blimp stopped right outside of the entrance of the arena, and Ai could see little blips of electric shock waves even from how high up she was. It was time to move. They all moved to their plates - Liang and Ai both shared one - and made their way down to the ground. They got through the entrance with no problems. One police officer attempted to subdue them, but Ai pulled out her fans and placed them at his torso - one at his chest and one at his stomach - and zapped him. She didn’t think she ever felt this much adrenaline pump through her body before.

When they got to the interior of the arena, Ai could hear the screams of the crowd. The chi-blockers they implemented must have made their move. Liang took notice of the Avatar and her teammates in the water and sent his kali sticks into the icy pool, electrocuting them. Ai joined Amon’s side on the rising platform of the playing field. Another team was standing there, helplessly. Ai didn’t recognize them, as she was never a pro-bending fan. She was ready to fight. The middle of the three threw some waterbending at Amon, which he swiftly dodged. Ai absentmindedly went after the earthbender, which she didn’t realize until later. He threw a disc at her, which she ducked, and sent a fan at his flank. A chi-blocker got a bola around his limbs, as well as the others, and they all went down like bumble-flies. 

Amon stepped up to the waterbender and took away his bending, the waterbender pleading with him the whole time. This struck a nerve with Ai, as she wasn’t used to seeing people having their bending taken away involuntarily. The only other time she saw that was during the rally, but she was too zoned-out thinking about Yukan. After taking all three’s bending, the chi-blockers dumped them over the playing field, and Ai feared they would drown until they climbed back up during Amon’s speech. When Amon was finished, everyone hitched a ride back on their plates and rose up to the sky. Out of the corner of her eye, Ai could see the Avatar had gotten free of Liang’s restraints. She was rising up on a water spout in their direction, but the water gave way and she fell. Ai felt her heart leap at this sight for two reasons: The first being that she didn’t want to see the girl get hurt, even if those chances were slim. The second being that she almost wanted the girl to catch them. She didn’t know why - was it the thrill? Or the guilt? The police chief suddenly grabbed hold of her with her cables and sent her flying in the direction of the blimp. She sent out a ball of fire at Liang and another chi-blocker that was sharing the plate, sending them flying onto the glass ceiling. Ai reached the blimp before she could see what became of them, but got a good view as soon as she was stable inside. He was fighting the Avatar. Ai attempted to go down and help, but Amon placed an arm across her chest. “He can handle it.” More chi-blockers were sent down instead and faced off with Chief Beifong. They fought for a few minutes until Korra sent Liang over the side of the building. “Shit…!” Ai grabbed one of the plates and swung down, not even waiting for the mechanism to deploy it itself. The blimp had crossed over the building by now, and as Ai was falling, she could see Liang holding on for dear life. She grabbed his wrist and one of the chi-blockers yanked the cable back up. The two breathlessly clawed their way back into the blimp and they were on their way. 

A few days had passed. Liang was in the medical bay and Ai had received a nasty bruise from him on her wrist. Tarrlok’s task force was on an arrest-binge and Ai was starting to become nervous. She almost wanted to call off work but knew that would draw more suspicion to herself. Both Tarrlok and Ping had seen her wince while carrying papers and asked her about it, but she assured them it was nothing. Ping seemed worried, while the other seemed suspicious. Ai knew why. 

Making her way back to her apartment one night, she found him standing at her door. Her  _ apartment  _ door. “Ms. Hashimoto, back so late?” Tarrlok had that smug grin on his face that Ai grew to both hate and find slightly attractive. “Yes, I was out to dinner with friends,” She replied. That was a lie, of course. She had made her one-hundredth visit to Liang to make sure he was okay, blaming herself for his dislocated shoulder. “What are you doing here?” 

“I thought I’d make a housecall. You’ve seemed to be in pain the last few days. I want to make sure everything is okay.” That smug grin wasn’t going anywhere. Ai’s heart began racing and she walked up to her door, unlocking it. “I’m fine, Councilman. I just have a bruise from banging my wrist - nothing to worry about.” As she began to open her door, Tarrlok finished opening it the rest of the way with a  _ bang _ . “I think you’re lying to me, Ai.”

“And what would I be lying about, Councilman?”   
  
They both locked eyes for a moment, before Ai daringly entered her apartment. Tarrlok followed close behind. “You know, I could call the police on you for entering my apartment.”

“Oh? Is that so?” 

Before she was able to turn around to face him, Tarrlok yanked the bag she had on her shoulder away from her. “Might I see what’s in this bag, Ms. Hashimoto?” Ai growled and went to grab the bag before she felt something tangle around her bruised wrist, making her cry out. It was a policeman’s cable, and suddenly there were many making their way into her apartment. Tarrlok’s hand dug around in her bag for a moment before pulling out her hood - the goggles still wrapped around them. His eyes widened for a second. “ _ I  _ assumed you may have gotten that bruise from using an electrified glove at the arena, but to think you’re a  _ Lieutenant. _ ” Ai bowed her head in shame and shut her eyes. “Nothing to say for yourself, Ms. Hashimoto?” Nope. She did have something to show, though. She still had one of her fans in her waistband and yanked it out, cutting the cable attaching her to one of the policemen. She dove through one of the other policemen’s legs and sprinted out of the apartment. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, after all. She burst through the double doors to her apartment complex and could see Toga’s van at a stoplight.  _ ‘Good. He didn’t get far.’  _ She waved her arms frantically, hoping that Toga and her friends would see her. This wouldn’t last long, and she ducked into an alleyway to her left. Hiding behind a cardboard box, she saw the group of police run past her and let a breath escape. She climbed up to the roof of the building she was facing and hid behind the slanted roof. She stayed there for a few seconds, catching her breath. Until she felt her left arm cramp up on her. Then the rest of her body.

  
Ai had no idea what was happening to her. All she could hear was the snapping of her muscles tensing and releasing. Next thing she knew, she was thrown over the angled roof. She was on her stomach, eyes facing the alleyway she was just in. And there was Tarrlok. He was bloodbending.  _ ‘What… the fuck?’  _ Tarrlok quickly looked to his side and tossed Ai to a blind spot in the alley behind the building she was just on top of. He let his grip go, and she lay on the ground, unable to move. “You’re… a bloodbender?” She felt the grip on her whole body once again, a strangled cry emitting from her throat. She sounded like an animal being tortured. “You’re very knowledgeable of waterbending for an Earth Kingdom native. I guess that whole adoption story was true.” The grip tightened, and then there was only darkness.


	10. The Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai and her friends got thrown in jail, but a certain someone might bust them out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Folks, it's t i m e. Gahhh, I hope you like it!

The next thing Ai knew, she was laid out on a hard surface. A groan emitted from her lips and she turned onto her side, softly opening her eyes. She was in a large room and could see Toga sitting on a cot across from her. Jishin was sitting on the floor next to his legs. As Ai slowly lifted herself up from her own cot, she heard Toga’s voice. “Mornin’, sleepyhead.” Fully surveying the room, she saw that she was in a large jail cell. There were four cots in the room, two on the east and west walls, and two on the south. Pao was sitting on the cot farthest from Ai, sulking. “We got caught…” Pao furrowed her brows and said, “Thanks to you.” Ai was confused as to where this animosity was coming from but felt too faint to provoke her. “Pao, cut it out. It’s not Ai’s fault,” Jishin cut in. Pao suddenly jumped from her cot and pointed an accusatory finger at Ai. “ _ I’m  _ not the one who seduced a Councilman and got herself caught!! No Lieutenant of Amon’s would be stupid enough to pull something like that, but I guess I’m  _ wrong _ .” Ai mustered up all of her strength to look Pao in the eyes. “I didn’t seduce him. He was at my door when I got home and forced himself in. He came with a bunch of policemen,” Was all she could mutter until she visibly deflated. Pao huffed and sat back down. “I don’t think this is about Tarrlok,” Jishin spoke up. “I think you’re jealous of Ai.” 

“ _ Jealous?!  _ Ha! Like I would be jealous of a newbie!”

“A newbie that climbed the ranks faster than you ever could.”

Pao crossed her arms and looked down at the floor, silent. That seemed to be the end of the conversation. The faint feeling becomes worse and Ai finds herself drifting away, only to catch herself before hitting the cot. Toga jumped up with the intent of catching her but ended up standing in the middle of the cell. “Are you okay, Ai?” The ravenette nodded unconvincingly, but Toga still sat back down. The cell was relatively silent for the day before they all decided to turn in for the night. Ai lied there groggily, still not over the fatigue from earlier. Despite that, she still couldn’t sleep. The previous night’s events flew through her mind and all she could think about was how much she wanted to be protected when her body was being controlled in such a way. How much she wanted Amon to be there to save her. She tried to dismiss the thought but was unable to let go of it. Ai had been thinking about Amon a lot recently, and she couldn’t understand why. She got more social interaction out of her friends, but his presence was comforting. Almost unnaturally so. It was a plus that they actually got along, and he actually felt like someone she could confide in - despite him being her leader. She thought back to how her hands felt in his, and how warm they were. How he didn’t let go until a good minute had passed. How he told her that he cared about her. 

And in that cold, lonely jail cell surrounded by members of a cause she barely wanted to be a part of yet she called friends, she realized she loved him. She probably had for a long time. She didn’t know  _ why  _ she loved him, though. Maybe it was the attention he gave her that he didn’t give the others? The attention he gave less to his other Lieutenant, his friend for years, Ai had learned. She knew she was somehow special to him, she just didn’t want to admit it. It made her feel embarrassed to even think about it. They had shared information about themselves to each other that Ai had told nobody else. Ai curled up into a ball into her cot and attempted to drift off to sleep. 

The next morning, Ai was woken up by a hand roughly shaking her shoulder. “Ai… Hey, Ai…” It was Pao. Ai sat up to face her. Ai sighed roughly before she said, “I’m… I’m sorry about yesterday. Jishin was right and I didn’t want to admit it.” The other woman was still terribly groggy. “Admit what?” Pao’s face reddened. “That-That I’m jealous of you. I worked so hard to get where I am now and it just seemed like you got it effortlessly.” Ai was about to retort before Pao began speaking again. “But then I remembered how skilled you were at the bookstore. And how you saved Liang at the Arena. You’re a natural fighter, and I just refused to see it.” Ai smiled and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder. “I forgive you, Pao. I understand why you felt that way.” They smiled and pulled each other into a warm hug before Ai blurted out, “Bloodbender!” This woke up Jishin and made Toga jump out of his cot. Pao pushed Ai away and asked her, “What?” 

“Tarrlok! He’s a bloodbender! That’s how he got the upper hand on me.”

“W-Why didn’t you tell us this yesterday?!”

“You were all pissed at me!”

“Wait-” Jishin cut in. “There wasn’t a full moon yesterday. How did he-” He stopped himself mid-sentence. Everyone stood there for a moment. “I don’t know,” Ai muttered. “I don’t know…” Suddenly, the metal clang of a policeman’s boots echoed through the hall. Ai could feel the cell become tense. The policeman came into view and stopped in front of Ai’s cell. “I’m here to get you guys out,” A familiar voice said. “Liang!” Everyone cheered before quieting down, not wanting to risk getting found out. Ai wrapped her hands around the metal bars and faced Liang. “I barely recognized you without your goggles! Where did you get that uniform?” He shot her a boyish grin. “Let’s just say I can be very persuasive.” 

He unlocked the cell door and slid it open. They all sneaked through the hall towards a door that led to the outside - something the four didn’t know until actually getting there. An armored police truck was waiting there. Toga’s eyes lit up. “Is this ours?” Liang opened the driver’s side door and nodded. “And I’m gonna be the one driving.” Despite his pouting, Toga followed the rest into the back of the truck. Liang turned on the sirens and pulled out of the alley. It was a quick drive to Headquarters.

The five of them met cheers when exiting the truck. Ai felt an arm wrap around her shoulders - that arm being owned by one of the chi-blockers she shared a drink with the other night - accompanied by the words, “They live! How was prison?” Ai laughed and replied, “No big deal. The cots suck though.” They all laughed, and Ai was happy to be back, but she knew who she really wanted to see. Upon asking Liang where he was, she was told he might be in his quarters - but no one is allowed in there. She doubted that applied to the other Lieutenant, but she listened anyway. Despite being disappointed, she said goodbye to everyone and headed home. 

When she got there, she was surprised to find someone sitting on her couch. “Amon?” There was a tray fitted with a teapot and two teacups on the table - Ai’s teapot and teacups. “Your little visit to jail caused you to miss our most recent meeting,” He stated simply. “So you break into my home?” 

“You don’t seem very angry about it.”

“I’m not,” She giggled. “Just surprised. I see you familiarized yourself with my kitchen.” Ai gestures to the tray on her coffee table. “I apologize. I thought it would be a nice gesture to surprise you with one of our meetings.” Ai smiled, ignoring the fluttering feeling she felt in her stomach. She took a seat next to Amon and picked up the teacup closest to her. She took a sip and realized it was ginger tea. She was surprised, but was thankful he chose a tea with medicinal uses. Hopefully, it would make her feel better. Ai eventually told Amon about her encounter with Tarrlok. “He arrived at my apartment and forced himself in. He found my hood and goggles in my bag. He had a whole crew of policemen with him. I don’t know why he was suspicious of me, though.” She could see him visibly stiffen when being told he was a bloodbender. “This is… alarming,” He spoke coldly. “Something will have to be done about him.” Ai tensed and wrung her hands together before opening up further. “Before that, he… took me out for a drink. I wouldn’t say it was a date if we hadn’t… kissed.” Ai could’ve sworn she saw the man next to her choke on his tea, but he covered it up quickly. “You understand it would be a problem if you had feelings for Councilman Tarrlok.”

“Oh, no, no, of course! It was a momentary thing. I have no feelings for him.”

Amon’s form seemed to relax at this and he took another sip of his tea. They sat in their usual comfortable silence for a bit, before Ai began to feel faint again. “Ai, are you feeling unwell?” Ai placed a hand on her head and nodded. “I keep getting these dizziness spells. I think they’re from Tarrlok’s bloodbending.” The masked man stood still for a moment before taking Ai’s hands in his. “This should help you feel better.” They stayed like that for less than a minute before Ai’s dizziness went away. “What… What did you do?”

“I’ll tell you at a later time.”

Ai sat there a moment longer until a question burst out that she didn’t know she was holding. “Why don’t you take off your mask when you’re around me?” They simultaneously tensed at the question, both for different reasons. Ai realized he could simply be insecure about his scar and said, “I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I asked that. I’m sure you have to be reminded of what happened to your family whenever you see that scar. Please, just ignore me.” There was a split second of silence before Amon rose from his seat. Ai’s heart leaped at the thought of him leaving out of some feeling of betrayal until he turned out the lights. “What are you doing…?” She heard him shuffling around until that sound stopped in front of her. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and she could only see the outline of his body, kneeled on the hardwood floor in front of her. The sound of a clasp being undone was heard and Ai felt Amon place something in her hands. It was wooden and thin - his mask. She traced her fingers alongside it, feeling the smooth wood on her fingertips. It wasn’t before long that she felt his hand take hers and raise it to his face - his real face. She cupped his cheek and she realized there was no scar there. “It’s fake…?” Ai didn’t mean to mutter this out loud, but she felt his jaw tense. She took that as a yes. She brought her other hand to run through his hair. It was longer than she thought it would be but still neat. He had raised cheekbones and a pronounced jaw. Her other hand felt for his nose, which was thin and narrow. His lips were full and Ai couldn’t avoid thinking about kissing them. 

“I’ve lied to you.” The words cut off Ai from her thoughts. “What do you mean?” Her voice sounded softer than she expected. “I’m not who you think I am.” Amon almost cautiously pulled Ai’s hands away from his face. “Then who are you?” 

“My name… is not Amon. My  _ real  _ name is Noatak. I’m from the Northern Watertribe.” Ai repeated his name like a verse. “ _ Noatak. _ ” He inhaled shakily as if hearing a name equated to attaching him to some kind of curse. “Ai… I’m a bender.” It was Ai’s turn to inhale. She took a deep breath, trying to process everything. “What kind of bender are you?” Was the only question she could think of. “I’m a waterbender… and a bloodbender.” Ai nodded, though she knew he couldn’t see it. It was Amon - or,  _ Noatak’s  _ \- turn to wait for Ai to speak. “We’re the same,” She spoke shakily. She let out a dry chuckle. “We’re in the same boat, you and I.”   
  
“We’re far from being in the same boat. We may both hate our bending, but you were blessed enough to have it taken away.”   
  
“We’re at least in the same water, Noatak.”

There was a pause, and Ai cupped Noatak’s face. “Was what you said about your father true?” He nodded. “And your brother?” He nodded again, then sighed. “Can we not talk about those things right now?”

“Of course.”

Ai placed her thumb on Noatak’s bottom lip and leaned in to kiss him. He froze at first, but kissed back gently as if any form of aggression would scare Ai away. She rested her forehead against his and smiled. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.” 

“I know.’’ She chuckled at his joke and kissed him again. He didn’t hold back this time, and he rested his hands on Ai’s cheeks in return. The kiss became more passionate, more feverish, and before Ai knew it, he was on top of her on the couch. 

Who knew Ai Hashimoto was going to wake up in bed next to her leader the next morning? Not Ai Hashimoto. After turning onto her right side, she saw him. And he was just as handsome as she thought he’d be. His tan skin was almost glistening in the morning light and Ai had to stop herself from gawking after five minutes. Okay, maybe ten. She decided to make the both of them breakfast and slyly rolled out of bed. Opening her fridge, she studied what ingredients she had.  _ ‘Okay - We got seaweed, eggs, arctic hen. I can make something with that.’  _

She plopped the seaweed and arctic hen into a pot with some leftover broth and set the eggs on the counter. Out of nowhere, in particular, she got the idea to try one of those cool tricks she saw at one of her favorite restaurants. She bounced the egg off of her spatula and she attempted to split it, but instead sent it bouncing off the side of the counter and onto the floor. “ _ Fuck.”  _ Her head and shoulder drooped. At least no one was there to see that awesome failure right? Except Ai felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. “I think you should stick to being my Lieutenant rather than a chef,” Noatak joked.  _ ‘I thought I heard footsteps.’  _ She thought. “I really wish you didn’t see that.” The man behind her chuckled and kissed the crook of her neck, making Ai squirm. “I’d love to help if you’d let me.” Ai unveiled a huge smile. “Of course,” She said. There was a moment of silence.

“...Someone’s gotta clean that egg up.” 


	11. The Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look through the eyes of the Equalist leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, long chapter this time, folks! Didn't expect it to be, honestly. I hope you enjoy it! Should have been studying for the SAT/ doing my English HW lol.

Ai eventually becomes holed up in her apartment, no longer having a job to go to. Not to arouse suspicion from the desk concierge, she had been entering through the fire escape. Noatak would come by to see her often - something small that would brighten her day greatly. They wouldn’t do much - either chat mindlessly, read, or simply drink tea and enjoy each other’s company. They didn’t have to cast aside their time spent together to so-called ‘meetings’ anymore. 

When they  _ would  _ talk, Noatak would slowly open up about his brother. “He was a sensitive child,” He started. “But he always meant well. He had a good heart.” Ai would listen intently, wanting to know more about the man who had harmed her. At first, she had pegged it as morbid curiosity, but now that she knew he was so close to the man she loved, she thought maybe she had him pegged wrong in the first place. As much as he enjoyed talking about the good times from his childhood and avoiding the bad, he couldn’t help but want to confront Tarrlok after hurting Ai. And going after the Equalists, of course. But now it was much more personal. Noatak expressed this to Ai, in which she softly shot him down. “Noatak, if he figures out who you are, he’ll have you thrown in jail. I know your brother means a lot to you and you wish to speak with him in some capacity, but I just don’t think it’s the right time.” His brows furrowed before he spoke again. “I plan to capture him before he can take any action. We can speak in the prison underground.” Ai’s eyes widened a bit, and she set her teacup down on the table. “You’ll be able to stomach that?”

“It’s the only way. There’s no way he  _ won’t  _ attack me as I  _ am  _ Amon. I’ll have to resort to self-defense. And I will win. He’s never been able to get the better of me before.”

Ai nodded solemnly as she felt a small ache in her chest. Noatak had only spoken about his brother on a few separate occasions, but she could already tell after the first time how much his brother meant to him. She suddenly felt the ache disperse and turned to face the man sitting next to her. “Thank you,” She said. “But you don’t have to do that. You can let my body process these things sometimes.” 

“I’m sorry. I just can’t stand to feel when you are in pain.” 

Ai placed a reassuring hand on Noatak’s cheek and he kissed her palm. “When are you going to see Tarrlok?” His facial expression hardened. “Tonight,” He answered simply. The other nodded and left the conversation at that. 

When night came, he was now dressed in his uniform. He had been wearing civilian clothing until then to not draw any eyes to him. Ai gave him a quick reassuring kiss and he put on his mask. Exiting through the fire escape, he vaulted over the last few steps and landed swiftly on his feet. It was raining pretty hard, unfortunately. He planned to make the journey on foot, free running through the rooftops. No one spotted him, and he made it to City Hall safely. It was late at night and no people were walking through the plaza. He took this opportunity to walk right through one of the front doors. Noatak kept to the darkness of the halls and spied into every room until he found his brother’s. Tarrlok was sitting at his desk doing paperwork, someone whom Noatak assumed to be his Council Page was at his side. He would wait until his Council Page was dismissed, and then he would be ready. He would have to be. He-  _ ‘Avatar Korra?’  _

“Tarrlok, we need to talk,” The Avatar firmly announced as she was crouched in his window. The sound of the wind and rain burst through.  _ ‘Shit.’  _ Noatak ducked further into the darkness. Tarrlok dismissed his Council Page and Noatak let him pass without any trouble. The two spoke for a moment. Tarrlok had apparently arrested the Avatar’s friends. A power play.  _ ‘I would’ve never expected that coming from him.’  _ He thought. Before long, the two began fighting, and Noatak knew it would be more difficult to keep out of sight. He planned to back out and head back to Ai’s, but something in him made him stay. Was it some sort of protectiveness over his brother? Or did he simply want to study the Avatar? He didn’t know, but he stayed. The two stayed put in Tarrlok’s office for a bit. It seemed he had the upper hand on the Avatar until Korra turned the wall behind him, sending him into the Council room. Noatak moved as quickly as he could towards the large room but stayed upstairs. Tarrlok was dangling from the same floor, and something within Noatak told him to grab his brother’s hand, but before he could make that decision, the Avatar sent him flying onto the Council room floor. The Avatar was closing in on him, her hands lighting with fire. Noatak made his decision and took one step before that fire burned out, and strangled groans emitted from the young Avatar. Noatak has never seen his brother bloodbend this ruthlessly - especially another living person. He sent the Avatar flying into a wall behind where the Council sat and knocked her out. Noatak watched until he picked her up and put her in the back of his Satomobile.

That’s when he hitched a ride on top of the vehicle, alluding Tarrlok’s sight. He stayed there through the bumps in the road and the cold until they reached a cabin. This was all Noatak needed to see. He jumped off the back and made his way back to the city on foot. When he returned to Ai’s apartment, he was exhausted and slightly cold. “Where have you been? I waited up all night for you.” There was concern in her eyes. Noatak unbuckled his mask and placed it on one of Ai’s kitchen counters. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know I’d be gone that long. I did a lot of walking,” He half-muttered. Ai sighed and grabbed his hand, leading him to the bedroom. “C’mon,” She said. “We both need some sleep.” 

They both awoke wrapped around each other, and by that time it was after noon. They both got up and got dressed - well, Ai got dressed, and they both set out to HQ. Toga picked them up at Ai’s request, and Noatak quickly went over his plan on the ride over. “Councilman Tarrlok has the Avatar in his custody. It’s time we took him out,” Was all he said. The brows and eyes of the two sitting in front seemed to rise simultaneously and Toga asked, “Where did you get that information from, sir?” The tension in the vehicle thickened and Noatak could feel Ai’s heart start to race. “I’m still in contact with Tarrlok’s Council Page, Ping. He told me last night,” Ai spoke up. Noatak was lucky to have her in the van. “What do you think he’s gonna do with her?”

“I don’t know. But we should be the ones to have her as a prisoner, not him.” 

Toga nodded in agreement. When they finally made it to headquarters, Noatak holed himself up with Ai and Liang in his office. “What are we gonna do about this?” There was an air of concern to Liang’s voice. They sat in silence before Noatak suddenly spoke. “Ai, turn on the radio. Perhaps we’re missing something.” Ai obliged and stood, turning the dial on the radio. It was just music, but it was around this time that the news came on. It eventually did, discussing the weather amongst other unimportant things, until the announcer mentioned something that made all of their ears perk up. “We interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you this special report. Late last night, Equalists attacked City Hall, subduing Councilman Tarrlok and capturing Avatar Korra. Details are still coming in, but if you have information, please contact the Republic City Police Department. Now, back to the news-“ Ai shut the radio off again. “Ah, I see he’s blaming it on us,” Noatak spoke firmly. “I’d say it’d be a pretty smart idea if he were messing with other people,” Liang chimed in. Noatak sharply inhaled before going over their plan. They were to ambush Tarrlok at the cabin. That would give Noatak a chance to capture them both. “We’ll wait until her friends come making a racket. That’s when we will know for sure that they know the Avatar is not in our custody. The Councilman will have nowhere to run except for the cabin after that.” 

After everyone was sure of their roles, Liang exited the office. Ai smiled and took his hands in hers before wrapping her arms around his neck - Noatak returned the favor by wrapping an arm around the small of her back. She kissed the nose of his mask before attempting to exit the office. Unknown to either of them, Liang had circled back to the office with a question in mind. That question was now a new one. His eyes were wide and he was pointing an accusatory finger back and forth between them. Liang furrowed his brows together before asking, “Did you two just…? Did I see that right-“ No one dared to move. “Liang, I-“ Ai started before someone grabbing her hand cut her off. Noatak had taken her hand in his and arrived at her side. He turned to Liang and simply said, “We’re together.” He was slack-jawed for a moment before correcting it and positioning himself behind Ai and Noatak. Wrapping his arms around each, he laughed and said, “Well, thanks for not telling me person I’ve known for nearly two decades and partner in crime.” Ai blushed in embarrassment and stuttered, “Liang, I-I’m so sorry. We were gonna tell you-“ 

“Nah, don’t worry about it. What matters -“ He made a point to turn his head to look at both of them. “-is that you two are happy. That’s all I care about. Probably shouldn’t tell the others, though. They might call you out on a case of nepotism.” Noatak nodded.  _ ‘He’s right. That’s probably for the best.’  _ He thought. Liang removes his arms from the each of them and strides out of the office. “Congratulations, you two.”

With Liang’s absence, the two let out a deep sigh. “I can’t… believe… that happened,” Ai breathed out. “I think that was a mistake on both of our parts,” Noatak said. Ai nodded in agreement and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. “At least we don't have to hide it, I suppose.” 

“We‘ll still have to be a bit careful. Chi-blockers still enter the office from time to time.”

“Of course.”

“And Liang was right. I think it’s best we keep our relationship mainly secret for now.”

“...You think?”

Ai removed her arms from Noatak. “I didn’t think it would be that much of an issue. Why does it matter what a few chi-blockers think of our relationship?” Noatak didn’t have an answer for her. He never had been in a serious relationship before. He’s had flings, sure, but nothing ever of this scale. Should he tell her that? Apparently, his silence was enough. “Noatak, you can tell me if you want to keep it private just to keep it private.”

He froze.  _ ‘How can she tell such things?’  _ He crossed his arm and sighed. “While the whole nepotism angle  _ does  _ concern me, I suppose making our relationship public does make me a tad bit… uncomfortable.”

“Noatak, that’s all you had to say. I respect how you feel and if you feel uncomfortable, then I won’t push you to make us public.” 

Noatak took Ai’s hands in his. “It will take me some time to get used to this, but I promise when I become more comfortable, we can become more public.” Ai smiled and hugged him. “Can I tell my friends? Or would that be pushing too far?” He smiled under his mask, despite Ai not being able to see it. “You can tell them, as long as  _ you  _ trust them not tell a soul.” She giggled. “You can trust them. They’re your followers, they’ll protect your image.”

The day finally came when Liang reported a break-in inside the prison. It was time. They took two vans to the cabin - one to hold the group of chi-blockers and one to hold Tarrlok. Noatak decided to sit in the back with his two lieutenants and the rest of his chi-blockers. He could feel the hearts of everyone in the van and focused on Ai’s. It was a heartbeat he was used to listening to, and it was beginning to pick up speed. He wished he could hold her hand and tell her everything would be alright, but they were across from one another, and he wouldn’t risk it otherwise. He lowers her blood pressure, feeling a slight pang of deal knowing she’s asked him to stop before. He sees her notice, and she eyes him, but not angrily. She gives him a nod - as if to say thank you. Before they arrive, he lowers the blood pressure of everyone in the van, wishing to keep them in peak performance. They finally arrive and all hop out. Noatak and Ai trail behind the rest of the group, and she quickly squeezes his hand. He needs it just as much as she does before facing his only family left. 

They sneak in through an unlocked window, and he can hear Tarrlok speaking to someone - presumably the Avatar - downstairs. They wait until he’s finished, and as he climbs up the stairs, his eyes widened. “Amon…!” He immediately unleashed a wave of blood bending that incapacitated the group, all except for Noatak. He was clearly being affected - the crackling of his muscles audible - but he walked through the pain. Tarrlok tried again but to no use. “What… What are you?” Noatak’s facial expression turned cold underneath his mask. “I… am the solution.” He positioned himself behind his brother and took his bending away. As he watched his brother’s body fall limp, he couldn’t help but remember when his father tried to get Tarrlok to bloodbend him. Would the result have been the same? Probably. He picked the body off the floor and instructed Liang to electrocute the box the Avatar was locked inside of. Ai split off from the rest and went with him back to the truck. Whether it looked suspicious or not, he was glad she was there. Ai placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “I’m sorry. This must be hard.” Noatak’s brows knit together. “More than you can imagine,” He replied. 

They made it to the van, and as Noatak was placing his brother’s unmoving body inside, there was a crash. Whipping behind, he locked eyes with the Avatar. She had escaped. “I’ll go after her,” Ai announced before sprinting after the young woman. “No, you know how bloodbending affects you…!” She was too far to hear him. Noatak focused on her heartbeat. She was still in close enough proximity to where he could sense her. He could sense her movement, as well as the Avatar’s. Noatak knew they were fighting, and focused on it as he finished placing his brother in the van. When he was done, Liang and the others ran out of the cabin. “Stop,” He called. They stopped. He caught up to Liang, who in turn asked, “Where’s Ai?” 

“Taking care of the Avatar.”

_ ‘Hopefully.’  _ He could sense some blood drain from Ai’s head, and she became faint. He felt his heart in his throat. Some blood leaked out of her side, and that’s when he had enough. “Liang, go retrieve her.” The other man nodded affirmatively and sprinted in Ai’s direction. The group could see the Avatar bend the snow beneath her, and she ran away. They were all silent for a moment, except for the wind, until they saw a form running in their direction. It was Liang, and he was carrying Ai. Noatak’s worst fears were realized. “Put her in the van with the Councilman. I’ll ride with her to make sure she is stable until we reach headquarters.” Liang nodded and placed her in the back of the vehicle, Noatak closely following. He climbed in, and a chi-blocker handed him a first aid kit. Noatak felt the van begin to move and went to work. “Ai. Ai, my love, listen to me. I’m going to bend some of your blood back into you and dress the wound. It might be a bit uncomfortable.” Ai giggled, her eyes still closed. “You called me ‘your love.’ That’s so sweet.” She was clearly out of it. Noatak began to produce a pulling motion and began bending the blood back into the wound. Ai groaned in pain, clutching her side. He decided that was enough, and dressed it. “You’re a bender,” A voice slurred. Tarrlok was beginning to wake. Great. Noatak ignored him for the time being and listened to Ai’s heartbeat until they reached HQ.

Ai stayed in the Medbay for a few days before she managed to get up and go to the hospital of her own accord. Noatak, Liang, as well as her friends, begged her not to, but she wanted the wound taken care of properly. She let Noatak know when they were alone in his office, and he reluctantly let her go, knowing it’s best for her recovery. Once she left, he went to the prison. There was someone he needed to speak with.

Tarrlok was put in a special one-person cell, away from the others. He had saved this cell for the Avatar, but he can stay here temporarily. His brother was sitting on the floor with one knee bent, peering down at the floor. A truly pathetic sight. Or sad, if you’re Noatak. He kneeled onto one knee to face his brother. Tarrlok looked up quickly upon noticing his presence. “Amon. You’re a liar.” His words stung like venom. Noatak had hoped in his almost drunken state that he’d forget what he saw. “You’re a bender,” Tarrlok stated. “A  _ bloodbender _ at that.” 

“That’s something you would already know.” Noatak removed his mask and looked upon his brother. He looked clueless for a second, before his eyes filled with knowledge. “No… Noatak. That can’t be you.” 

“It’s me, Tarrlok. It seems our paths have crossed again.”

“I thought I’d never see you again.” Tarrlok’s disbelief was cut short, as his heart flooded with anger. “You’ve become a criminal.” That stung. “A  _ monster _ .” That stung a bit more. “Brother, what I am doing, I am doing for the greater good. Can’t you see how bending has hurt us?”

“Bending also saved your loved one.”

That shut Noatak up for a second. “I have to admit, I was in a state of panic. The medbay would have helped her just as well,  _ without  _ bending.”

“You’re a hypocrite.”

“I’d take my own bending away if I could.” Tarrlok would’ve told him he was lying if he actually thought it, but the look on Noatak’s face told more truth than his words. His tense form relaxed, and he slumped back onto the floor. “If you’re really still my brother, you wouldn’t keep me locked up like this.” 

“It’s a necessary evil, Tarrlok. My followers can’t know you’re receiving special treatment from me.”

Tarrlok bowed his head and sighed. They were both silent. “Is this really what it’s come to, Noatak? Capturing your own brother?”

  
“You had the Avatar. You brought this on yourself.” Noatak turned to exit the prison. He couldn’t speak to his brother anymore. Not without either weeping or screaming. “Locking me up is  _ your  _ choice, Noatak!” He was right. 


	12. The Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai visits the hospital and receives some news she wasn't expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG!! SCHOOL AND MENTAL ILLNESS IS A BITCH. ANYWAYS, HOPEFULLY THIS CHAPTER ISN'T TOO CRAPPY. ENJOY!! I also drew Ai again, but in my own artstyle! I keep having difficulties posting it to the chapter, but if you want to see it, it's on my Instagram - which you can find in my AO3 profile! Check it out if you want :).

It was freezing - her lungs were pumping the ice-cold air. The only thing she could see was the snowy wind and her breath - and the Avatar about ten feet in front of her. She could’ve sworn she heard Noatak beckon to her, but she drowned it out, chalking it up to her own anxieties. They both dove past an outcropping, now out of sight from anyone watching them. Korra turned and sent a wave of snow barreling towards Ai with full force. Ai dodged it by rolling out of the way and sprinted in the Avatar’s direction, fans proudly displayed at her sides. Korra’s eyes widened and out of instinct formed small pieces of snow into ice. She sharpened them with her bending and sent them flying, attempting to hit Ai with the utmost precision. Ai dodged, running in a zig-zag motion. All except one.

She felt a sharp pain in her side and fell to one knee. Clutching herself, she felt a thick formation of ice piercing into her skin. Korra froze, and Ai yanked the dagger-shaped piece of ice out of her side as the Avatar approached her. “What does Amon want with me after he takes my bending?” Her voice was firm, commanding. It reminded Ai of someone she knew. She would’ve made a joke if she wasn’t so focused on keeping her own blood inside of her body. “Go,” Ai spat. She didn’t mean to sound so spiteful, but she was simply in too much pain. “What…?”

“I don’t want to fight you and you don’t want to fight Amon. You need to leave now.”

Korra’s eyes widened in confusion, but she nodded anyway and turned to leave. “I’m sorry you got injured. I can quickly heal you if you want.” Ai shook her head. “No. But Avatar -“ They locked eyes for a moment. “Thank you for sparing me. You didn’t have to do that.”

“You _did_ say you didn’t want to fight me.” The Avatar finally fully turned to leave and moved the snow beneath her feet, creating a path for her to sprint. That was the last thing she remembered before waking up in the medbay.

She slowly opened her eyes and a groan emitted from her lips as her eyes adjusted to the fluorescent lights overhead. As her eyes focused, she saw that her friends were huddled around her - Liang was standing slightly farther away in the back. “Ai! You’re awake!” Jishin presented the biggest grin Ai had ever seen on his face. “What… happened?” Her voice was hoarse. “You got your ass kicked by the Avatar,” Pao said. Ai was able to force out a monotone ‘haha.’ Her side suddenly became sore and she clutched it. “You alright?” Toga was beginning to rise from his seat. “It… doesn’t feel right,” Ai muttered. The dull ache started to feel hot and itchy. “Was it cleaned?” Liang shut his eyes tight and shook his head. “I knew it,” He spat. “Knew what?”  
  
“That asshole Wang convinced me to clean your wound,” Liang strode over to Ai’s bedside and took a seat. “Knew I should’ve done it. Knew he would fuck it up. He doesn’t even have a medical background.” He seemed to be talking to himself rather than Ai now. He removed the dressing from Ai’s wound and the edges were red and puffy - some parts were green. “Shit,” He swore. “Is it bad?” Liang cocked his head to one side and studied it for a second. “Not terrible, but I think we’ll need to get you to a hospital.”

“A hospital? I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Pao cut in. “Isn’t she wanted?”

“We’ll take her to a hospital outside of the city. They won’t be on the lookout for her as much as they are here. We’ll be in and out quick,” He turned to face Ai and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “But _you_ need to get some rest, sister. I’ll see you soon and we’ll take you.” Liang lifted himself from her cot and exited the room made of curtains.

Ai spent two, nearly three days laying in that room. The burning became worse, almost unbearable - to the point where she could barely get a wink of sleep. She was tired of waiting, and exited her cot, clutching her right side. She changed into her regular clothes and left HQ, amidst a few odd glares. She made it to the hospital on foot, and when she made it to the stairs that led up to the hospital, she was met with a familiar figure sitting on the steps. “Liang?” His head perked up at the sound of her voice. “Ai,” He retorted. “I thought you beat me here and were in there already. I was waiting for you.”

“Well stay there, I won’t be long.”  
  
“You must be crazy if you think I’m not going in there with you.” Ai sighed and patted his shoulder. “Fine.” They entered the white, square building together and checked in under a fake name. The two of them spent some time chatting in the waiting room until Ai was finally called in back. Ai changed into a gray hospital gown and waited for a moment in the hospital bed until she was greeted by an older Water Tribe woman. She wheeled in a bucket of water among other things and stopped at Ai’s bedside. “Hello,” The woman greeted. “My name is Atiqtalik. I’ll be your nurse, Miss Hua.” Atiqtalik had Ai remove her gown and in turn, removed the wrappings from her body. “I see. Your wound is very infected,” The older woman observed. “How were you injured like this?”   
  
“Bar fight. Guy… had a knife on him.” Ai cringed at her hesitance and hoped the other woman wouldn’t catch it. Atiqtalik nodded and turned towards the cart she had wheeled in. She retrieved a bowl of some kind of paste and slathered it on her gloved fingers. “This will sting a small bit.” Ai flinched when the paste made contact with her wound. It stung a lot a bit. “This is Jie paste. It’s used to clean wounds like yours,” The nurse explained. Atiqtalik placed the bowl back on the cart, disposed of her gloves, and began bending the water out of the bucket. The water began to glow and she brought it up to Ai’s wound. “This will heal the wound nicely, and then you’ll be free to go,” The nurse said with a smile. The water was colder than Ai was expecting, but she didn’t mind it. Ai, let the nurse do her work for a bit before her hands froze. Atiqtalik’s hands slowly moved from Ai’s side to the center of her abdomen. “Oh…! And don’t worry, Miss Hua. The wound didn’t harm the fetus.”

The… what?

“What?” Ai was reeling, only able to produce one word. They locked eyes for a moment, and Atiqtalik’s facial expression morphed into one of discomfort. “Did you not know, Miss Hua?” Ai shook her head. The older woman sighed. “I’m sorry you had to find out so suddenly, but be thankful you found out in a hospital.” Ai nodded, despite still not yet completely processing what she had just been told. As Atiqtalik resumed her healing, Ai began thinking to herself. _‘I can’t tell Noatak yet. It would only cause him more stress.’_ She shut her eyes and focused on the feeling of the water drifting up against her undressed wound, “You don’t seem very excited about your pregnancy.” They were both silent for a moment. “I’m not _thrilled_ , but I’m not unhappy,” Ai replied. Atiqtalik glared at the other woman, asking her to continue. If Ai were in a worse mood, she would’ve taken offense towards the older woman squirming her way into her business, but she reminded Ai of her mom, so she continued. “My boyfriend… he’s an important man. Well-renowned in his field. But he’s also hated by many. It’s a dangerous line of work, you see.” The nurse nodded slowly. “And you don’t want to cause him any added stress, is that right?” It was Ai’s turn to nod. Atiqtalik took a seat on Ai’s bed and she could hear the woman’s bones creak. “Have you ever considered that instead of causing him stress, this may cause him joy?” That didn’t cross Ai’s mind in the slightest, but it could be possible. She doubted it but displayed a thoughtful expression to please the other woman. “You don’t think so?” Oh, she was good. Ai chuckled, but it was more of a sigh. Atiqtalik smiled and rested a wrinkled hand on Ai’s. “Trust me. It’s more likely than you think.” Ai pondered for a moment. Maybe she was right. _‘Maybe I’ll tell him, after all.’_

Atiqtalik finished healing Ai’s wound. It would leave a scar, but she was glad it was healed, to begin with. She bid the other woman farewell, changed, and met Liang in the hall. “How did everything go?” Ai stood there frozen. “Ai…?” Her lips quivered open. “Liang… I’m pregnant.” Her voice sounded as if it was being forced out of her. Liang’s mouth hung open slightly as his eyes widened. “You’re pregnant? What-” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Did you just find out now?” Ai nodded solemnly. Liang exhaled sharply through his nose and yanked Ai into a hug. “It’ll all be alright, partner. You’ll get through this.” He pulled away - his arms still wrapped loosely around her back. “When are you going to tell him?”

“I… don’t know. I’m afraid he won’t be too happy about it.”

“Ai, I doubt that’ll happen. You shoulda seen how he was fussin’ over you when you were in the medbay. Every time I would enter his office he’d ask about you. You two’ll make it work.”

Ai nodded, attempting to hide tears forming in her eyes. Liang lifted a hand and wiped a tear that began to cascade down her cheek. His expression suddenly turned tense and he said, “If he _does_ do or say anything you don’t like, you’ll tell me, right?” Ai smiled and nodded in reply. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Good. If anyone hurts you, I’ll kill ‘em.” This earned a small laugh from Ai. Wrapping an arm around her, Liang and Ai exited the hospital and parted ways.

As Ai climbed up her fire escape and through her window, she noted that she wouldn’t be able to do that in a few months. Entering her apartment, she was met with a sight that nearly made her jump out of her skin. Noatak was sitting on her couch. He was sitting cross-legged with his chin resting on his intertwined hands - he looked deep in thought until his head perked up at the sound of Ai’s footsteps. He almost bolted from the sofa to Ai’s form and clasped her hands in his. “Are you alright? What did the doctor say?” His calm, smooth voice was a stark contrast to his jerky movements. “I only met with a nurse,” She explained. “She cleaned and healed my wound, but it’ll leave a scar.” Noatak flinched as if he were the one hit with a dagger made of ice. “The Avatar will be taken care of… soon. But for now, I have a very large favor to ask of you.” The other cocked her head to one side questioningly. “It’s about my brother. I… can’t just keep him locked up in a cage.” Ai sighed and removed a hand from his grasp to cup his cheek. “I know, darling. It must be hard.”

“I need to keep him somewhere close by in which I can supervise him.”

Ai realized what he was insinuating and quickly took her hand away from his face. “What? _No_ , we’re not keeping him here. Why not put him up at a hotel?”

“That’s too dangerous. There are too many eyes in a hotel. Someone will make a report. This is the only way, Ai.”

Ai growled and turned away from him. “You want to let the man that used bloodbending on me and made me pass out several times into my home? That’s fine with me. But when he does it again and escapes, it’ll be your fault.” Noatak came up behind Ai and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Ai, it won’t come to that. Tarrlok knows better than to fight me, I should hope.”

“ _You should hope,_ ” Ai spat back at him. She felt her body tense, then release. “I’m sorry,” She turned to face him. “I know how much he means to you. I’ll give him a chance.” Noatak nodded and released the one hand still grasping her one shoulder. “I’ll go retrieve him from the prison. I made sure that most of my chi-blockers are on various assignments, so headquarters should be fairly empty - excluding the medbay.” When he turned towards the window to exit, Ai felt her lips part, as if to speak. Nothing came out, though. She placed a harsh hand on the side of her head and mentally cursed herself that she didn’t tell him about her pregnancy. _‘It’ll be even harder to tell him with Tarrlok around.”_ She thought.

Nearly an hour passed before Ai heard the window open slightly and two sets of feet hitting the hardwood floor. She was in the kitchen preparing dinner and decided she would greet them by seating herself on the counter. She could hear them speaking amongst themselves. “Don’t think this will make me more likely to warm up to you,” Tarrlok sneered. “I’m still your prisoner - still being kept captive by my own brother even in your Lieutenant’s apartment.” Noatak was silent for a moment, before he said, “I’m sorry you feel that way, Tarrlok, but please know I am doing this for your own betterment.”

“Oh, like when we were kids? Do you remember that, Noatak?” Ai could hear what she assumed was Tarrlok inching closer to Noatak. “When you would test your little bloodbending tricks on me when I was ill or _anxious_? That wasn’t for my betterment, Noatak, it was for yours. It was so that you could gain the pride of our father.” Noatak was silent again. _‘When he was anxious?’_ Ai thought. _‘Like what he does for me?’_ Ai never viewed that as anything more than Noatak helping her calm down, but was it something more? Was he simply power-hungry and looking for someone to physically control? Ai quickly wiped the thought from her head when she heard the footsteps heading towards the kitchen. Upon entering the threshold that divided the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, Tarrlok stood there, glaring. “Ai,” He greeted dryly. “Tarrlok.”

“What, no ‘Councilman’ this time?”

“You lost my respect when you used your little bloodbending trick on me.” Tarrlok seemed to be taken aback at Ai’s echoing of his and Noatak’s conversation. “Welcome back, by the way. I find it funny how you’ll be forced to stay here under my and Noatak’s watch. You won’t be able to _assault_ me now.” Tarrlok exhaled and crossed his arms before a look of surprise crossed his face. “Wait… you two are dating.” This earned the attention of both Ai and Noatak, who both shared a look. Tarrlok pointed an accusatory finger at Noatak and said, “You called her ‘my love’ when she was bleeding out in the truck.” Ai hopped off the counter and strode over to Noatak’s side. “And you just called him Noatak. Do you know…?” Ai nodded and wrapped an arm around Noatak’s waist. “I mean, I definitely would now after overhearing your guys’ conversation.” Noatak removed his mask and set it on the counter. “If we’re going to be staying here together,” Noatak cut in. “We’ll have to make the best of it. Tarrlok, you’ll be sleeping on the couch in the front room.” Noatak gestured towards the front room. Tarrlok sighed. “Fine. I suppose it’s better than the cot in my cell.” Suddenly, the sound of bubbles erupted from behind Ai, and she turned to see a pot bubbling over. “Shit!”

As Ai was finishing up making dinner, Tarrlok and Noatak sat in the living room silently. She made three plates for each of them and carried them into the other room. They sat and ate in silence until there was a knock at the door. The three of them froze and looked at each other. “Tarrlok, there is a linen closet in the hall. Hide in there,” Noatak whispered. With a pout, Tarrlok reluctantly stood and rushed to the hall. Ai stood as well and walked up to the door as Noatak got rid of Tarrlok’s plate. “Oh…! Liang, we weren’t expecting you.” The mustached man rubbed the back of his neck and held out a small bag. “I picked up some desserts for you. I know today was rough for you.”

“Why don’t you come in?”

Liang bid a greeting to Noatak as he entered and sat the bag on the coffee table. Noatak slipped into the kitchen to hide Tarrlok’s dish and Liang tossed Ai a concerned expression. “Did you tell him…?”

“Not yet. I’m trying to find the right time.” Liang sucked some air through his teeth. “Did I come at a bad time?” Ai quickly shook her head. “No, no, not at all. Don’t worry.” She gave him a kind smile before Noatak entered the room again. “I’m making us some tea,” He announced. They soon all gathered on the couch and spoke for a bit, before Ai said, “Liang when I was in the medbay, you mentioned you had a medical background. Where did you learn that kind of stuff?”

Liang took a sip of his tea and set his cup down. “When I was eighteen, I was training to be a private in the United Forces. I was going through Medic training before they tossed me out.”

“Why did they toss you out?” Liang rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I had gotten into my fair share of drunken brawls and General Li Wei thought it best to let me go.”

“I see. What did you do after that?”

“Got into more drunken brawls. Ran with some gangs. I was all by myself when I met this guy though,” He gestures to Noatak. “He and a couple other of Sato’s bodyguards walk into this bar I was playin’ cards in. While the other two guys immediately start laughin’ and talkin’ with some women, he just sat at the bar by himself. To be honest, I just wanted to mess with him.” Liang chuckles. “But we started talkin’ and it turns out we got along pretty well. Been friends ever since.” Ai smiled at the thought of a stoic Noatak sitting at a bar and most likely drunk-off-his-ass Liang pestering him with questions. “I’m glad you’re opening up about your past, Liang. I was wondering when you would,” Ai said. They laughed together and Ai proceeded to open more about herself as well, completely forgetting about the ex-Councilman in the linen closet.


	13. The Argument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai and Noatak have a little spat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short chapter! Just wanted to write a piece that's a little more fluffy :)

An argument started between Ai and Noatak the next morning. Noatak had a meeting that he was going to attend with Hiroshi Sato - once an esteemed businessman, now part of the Equalist underbelly. Ai wanted to attend, of course, but Noatak wouldn’t let her. And that wasn’t all. 

He also wanted her to look after Tarrlok while he was gone. 

“I don’t understand why I must babysit your thirty-seven-year-old brother while you go off playing leader. I’m your lieutenant. I should be there - at your side! I should know what’s going on!” Ai’s hands were clenched into fists at her sides, her breath still. “Ai, I understand your frustration, but Tarrlok can’t stay here alone. You need to rest, as well.” 

“I feel like ever since the Avatar wounded me, you don’t want me in your business. Do I seem that frail to you? The nurse said I’m fully healed.”

“You can never trust a bender.” 

“Noatak, she’s a nurse. It’s her job to heal people, bender or not. Plus, it’s just a meeting, I won’t even be going into combat.”

“I’ll catch you up to speed when I get back.” And with that, Noatak exited the apartment through the window. Ai, let out a growl, not yet noticing Tarrlok resting his form up against the western wall of the living room. “Lover’s quarrel?” Even the way he stirred his tea was done in a smug manner. “Tarrlok, I do not need this -” She made a wild gesture with her hands. “- right now,” Tarrlok smirked and strode over to the couch. Upon taking a seat, he said, “This is what he’s actually like, you know. Possessive. Wanting to keep you to himself. How can you love a man like him?” Ai joined him on the couch. She cleared her throat and said, “Despite our argument earlier, he’s very caring and loving and compassionate.” Tarrlok looks like he’s about to gag and sneers at this. “I don’t believe my brother could possibly be any of those things.”

“What about when you were boys?” 

“Maybe before we discovered our waterbending, but once our father showed his true colors, Noatak became cold and distant. He ran away from home when he was only fourteen.”

“After protecting you from your father.” Tarrlok’s eyes widened at this. “He told you everything, didn’t he?” Ai nodded. Tarrlok sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “He has good in him, Tarrlok.” 

“That ‘good’ disappeared years ago. It disappeared once his age reached double-digits. Do you want to know what he would do, Ai? He would use his bloodbending to keep a grip on me. Almost constantly. I could even feel it before falling asleep. It’s like he didn’t want to let go of me. When I would become anxious, he would calm me down. When I would become angry, he would calm down then, too. He was very manipulative at a young age.” Ai drew the comparison of Noatak’s behavior to his current self. “He does that to me too at times, but I always find it comforting.” 

“You shouldn’t”.

Suddenly, Ai felt sick. Very sick. She quickly bolted to the bathroom to vomit, Tarrlok trailing behind her. “Are you… alright?” Ai could barely hear him through the sound of her retching. “I’m… fine,” she choked. “Just thrown by what you said.” 

“I wouldn’t peg you for being this emotionally frail, Hashimoto. Are you ill?” 

“I’m not ill-“ She vomited again. Tarrlok stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a rag from a shelf. He ran it underneath cool water and placed it up against Ai’s forehead. “Is there something you’re not telling me then, Ai?” She gritted her teeth and shut her eyes. “Do not tell Noatak. Not yet. Please.” 

“What is it, Ai?”

“I’m pregnant, Tarrlok.”

His eyes widened and his hand with the washcloth moved away slightly. “His?” His voice was just above a whisper. Ai nodded solemnly. Tarrlok looked around the room, seemingly not knowing what to do. Ai grabbed hold of his washcloth-less hand. “It’s okay, Tarrlok. I’m fine. Everything’s going to be okay. I just have to tell him…” 

“You haven’t told him?!” Tarrlok’s sudden outburst made Ai jump. “No, I haven’t. I will soon, I promise.” This seemed to calm Tarrlok a bit and he returned the washcloth to the other’s forehead. “I just hope he takes it well.”

—

Noatak had to fix his posture several times as to not gain the attention of his followers. The argument between him and Ai had irritated him. Why couldn’t she see things his way? Liang had noticed his change in posture and asked him about it in which Noatak proceeded to give in to his friend. “These things happen in relationships,” Liang said. “Give it time. She’ll come back to ya.” Not even thirty seconds passed before Hiroshi entered Noatak’s office. “Ah, Amon! So very good to see you, my friend, very good. How are things these days?” Noatak was put off by how friendly Hiroshi was behaving, but he was always the charismatic fellow. “Things are well, Mr. Sato. I suggest we get right to business.” Noatak was in no mood to entertain, and he could tell the tension in the room shifted from the look Liang gave him. “And I thought I was the businessman!” Sato let out a hearty laugh. “But really, I have several airships at my disposal. We could take the city today if you wanted.” His tone suddenly changed to something darker, and Noatak mentally complimented him. “While I would like to take hold soon, today is far too early. We need to think of a plan. And I have something in mind.” 

The men went over how they will take the city by storm, so to speak. They will kidnap the council and invade the city on airships and automatons. It was perfect. Or it would be perfect if Ai was there. He sighed, though it was quiet enough to where Hiroshi wouldn’t hear. He felt Liang’s presence become nearer and turned to face him. “Go talk to her,” He whispered. Noatak nodded and excused himself from the dark, metal room.   
__

When Noatak arrived at the apartment, Ai was laid out on the couch, while Tarrlok was placing a new washcloth on her forehead. Removing his mask, his eyes were wide with concern. “Is everything alright?” 

“I’m fine. Tarrlok’s just been fawning over me since I got sick this morning.”

“You got sick? Are you ill?”

“Actually-“ Tarrlok cut in. “Ai has something she wants to tell you.” He grabbed hold of Ai’s hand and helped her off the couch. Ai led Noatak into her bedroom and shut the door. She sat on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to her, beckoning him to follow. He sat, and she suddenly started to tear up. “I’m sorry,” Her voice was shaky as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Ai… what’s wrong? Did our argument this morning affect you that badly?”

“In a way, I suppose. It made me more afraid to tell you something important.” His eyes pierced into hers like lightning in a storm. “What is it?” She quickly took his hands in hers and furrowed her brows. “You need to promise me that you won’t treat me like I’m weak or fragile or-“ 

“Ai, I promise. I don’t want you to be afraid to tell me anything.” Ai inhaled a shaky breath and said, “Noatak, I’m pregnant.” He blinked once, then twice, attempting to process what she just said. “What? Really?” He almost seemed to be speaking to himself. Noatak let out a shaky chuckle and wrapped his arms around Ai. “I’m going to be a father?” Ai smiled into his shoulder. He pulled away and looked her in the eyes. “You’re going to be a mother.” Ai smiled a toothy grin and nodded. “We’re gonna have a baby.” They both laughed and hugged again. “Wait, Tarrlok knows?” 

“And… Liang. But that’s it, I promise!”

“He did go to the hospital with you. That’s where you found out, I assume?” Ai nodded. They sat in happy silence for a while, before Ai suddenly spoke. “If it’s a girl, I get to name her!”

“Who says?”

“I says! Please! I’ve had a name in my head ever since I was a little girl!”

Noatak chuckles. “Fine, but I’ll get to name our son.” 

“In your dreams.”

They later exited the bedroom and Ai pulled Tarrlok into a hug. “He’s happy,” she cried into his shoulder. “He’s happy.” Noatak later began cooking dinner for the three of them, (he insisted) while Ai and Tarrlok sat and chatted in the living room. It was the first time they had a pleasant conversation since their trip to the bar. Ai’s head suddenly perked up in the middle of their conversation and she left the couch. “I was still talking,” Tarrlok complained. “I’m still listening,” Ai replied as she walked up to her radio. She turned up the dial and strode over to Tarrlok. She bent down and grabbed his hand, lifting him from the couch. “What are you doing?” He pretended to be annoyed, but Ai saw right through him. “I think it’s time we danced, Tarrlok.” She placed her right hand on his shoulder and her left in his hand. They performed an old Northern Water Tribe dance for a minute before Ai began to giggle like a child. “This is a serious art, you know. It’s not something to be made fun of.”

“I’m not making fun of it!”

Noatak suddenly popped his head in from out of the kitchen. “What’s going on here?” 

“Your soon-to-be-wife is making fun of a sacred Northern Water Tribe art and I will not stand for it!” Ai blushed at the “soon-to-be-wife” part. Noatak simply laughed and said, “Want me to cut in?” Tarrlok released Ai and entered the kitchen. Noatak took Tarrlok’s place and danced with Ai. “I didn’t know you were such a good dancer,” She put on an overly-flirtatious voice. “My mother would force me to dance at social gatherings.” This earned a giggle from Ai, picturing little Noatak dancing with his mother. That then made her sad, but she dismissed it. He suddenly dipped her and gave her a kiss, when suddenly the upstairs neighbor began banging on the floor above them. They both laughed like mischievous teenagers and kissed again. They were both happy and nothing could ruin that happiness.


	14. The Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Equalists have finally begun taking over Republic City.

The Equalists have begun taking over the city. Ai was sent with the rest of her “crew,” so to speak, to take care of Councilman Chuanli of the Earth Kingdom. They rode in the back of Toga’s van, as they always did, and Ai kept silent about the pregnancy. She felt sick - either from the fetus or the secret, she couldn’t tell. Ai felt guilty over the whole situation but her friends didn’t know she was dating their leader in the first place. She had to find a better time to tell them than in the back of the van dressed as pest control technicians. They sat and chatted excitedly before they made it to Chuanli’s home - Ai being the quietest. She hoped they wouldn’t notice, but she just couldn’t help it. She felt too sick to converse.

Ai, Pao and Jishin exited from the back of the van, insect spray in tow, and arrived at the old man’s door. Pao decided she was the one to knock on the door and they waited, still, and listening for the man’s footsteps. Upon opening the door, Ai gave the spiel before Pao was able to. “We were called about a spider-rat problem?” Sparks flew and the Councilman was on the ground, unconscious. Jishin and Pao lifted him while Ai opened the back door and they plopped him right down in there, not particularly carefully. The three sprinted back into the van and they sped away in the direction of the Equalists’ Headquarters. 

They dropped him off in a cell underground, near the rest of their prisoners. As they were leaving the vicinity of his cell, Noatak caught sight of Ai and called her over. “Tha airship is about to take off. Care to join me?” Ai obliged and grabbed hold of his hand when no one was looking. They drove to the airfield and Ai’s surprise, Hiroshi Sato was waiting near the airship. After they exited the vehicle, Noatak introduced Ai, “Mr. Sato, this is my other Lieutenant.” Hiroshi grinned heartily and shook her hand with a good amount of strength. He is a businessman, after all. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Sato,” 

They set off and were in the air, overlooking the burning city. Ai didn’t like what she saw, but she knew it was all for Noatak, and so she kept quiet. As Ai studied the cityscape out the window, she overheard bits and pieces about Hiroshi’s daughter, Asami. She got the gist that she was partnered up with the Avatar, and Ai quietly rooted for her. She quietly rooted for the Avatar, too. Maybe she could end this and they could escape and live out a normal life away from politics and war - but Ai doubted that with the way things were going. Sato let out a sigh and exited the observation deck, muttering something about “taking a breather.” The two were left alone, and Ai took a chance to scoot over to Noatak’s side and wrap her arms around his neck. “We’ll finally have the city to ourselves,” He spoke quietly. Ai smiled and rested her forehead up against the red spot on Noatak’s mask. “Hopefully things will quiet down then,” Ai said. She could see his eyes soften behind his mask and he let go of her. “Turn around for me,” He said. Ai did as he commanded, albeit a bit confused. “What are you doing?” 

“Close your eyes.”

She did as she was told and shut her eyes tight. Ai honestly had no idea what he had planned and she felt a bit nervous but stood her ground. She heard the rustling of fabric and footsteps nearing closer to her. Taking a deep breath, Ai asked once again, “Noatak, what are you doing?” She made sure to say his name just above a whisper. Ai suddenly felt fabric wrap around her throat, equipped with an accessory that gently rested against the base of her neck Without opening her eyes, she lifted a hand to touch what she realized was a thin stone attached to the choker. Feeling the grooves on the cool stone, she could definitely tell what it was and sucked in a breath. “Noatak…” He came up from behind her and rested a hand on her cheek - she could feel his other reach for the stone without having to even look down. “Ai… Will you marry me?” Ai felt a lump form in her throat and nodded wordlessly, pulling him into a hug. A shaky breath emitted from her, and she felt embarrassed for crying - though Noatak didn’t seem to mind. He just stood there and held her. 

Ai quickly moved away from him and trotted up to the window to see even a small bit of a reflection. She avoided viewing her red, puffy eyes and instead focused on what was wrapped around her neck. A classic blue stone was connected to her betrothal necklace, though the carving was out of the ordinary. It was the symbol of the element of Earth. A perfect combination of their two cultures. “Noatak, it’s beautiful,” she spoke. “I’m glad you like it.” 

‘Did he seriously think I wouldn’t?’ Ai thought. Of course, to ruin the moment, Ai suddenly felt sick and had to quickly run to the bathroom that was located on the airship. Upon entering the observation deck again, Hiroshi had assumed his position by Noatak’s side and Ai pouted but was then too sick to pout. Sato turned to Ai and said, “Tenzin got away.” She didn’t really care but pretended she did. “How are we going to get to him?”

“There is another airship headed to Air Temple Island right now. It will all be taken care of.” Ai nodded at this and sat on one of the benches lining the airship. Her dignity quickly left her and she ended up lying down, much to Hiroshi’s confusion. “Are you feeling alright, Lieutenant?” Ai smiled at him shakily. “Yeah… I’m okay. Just, uh, motion sick.” The older man didn’t seem too moved by her words. “The airship is barely moving. Are you sure you’re not ill?”

“Certainly.”

Noatak suddenly changed the subject, much to Ai’s relief. They chatted about their plans for their city for a few minutes - what they were going to do, how Hiroshi was going to get his daughter back, and so on. Until he stopped mid-sentence and asked Ai, “I didn’t notice your betrothal necklace earlier. When did you put it on? Who’s the lucky guy?” He chuckled as he asked that last question and Ai froze. She could’ve sworn she tucked it beneath her vest - it must’ve slipped out when she was bent over vomiting. “I, uh-”

“It’s me,” Noatak cut in during Ai’s stuttering. Her eyes opened wider than Hiroshi’s and she looked at him as if she were going to kill him. “What? You two are getting married?” 

“She’s pregnant, as well. That’s why she was vomiting earlier.” Ai gripped at her pant leg before nearly shouting, “Okay, Amon, I think Mr. Sato has heard enough.” Hiroshi turned to Ai. “You’re pregnant, too?! When did this all happen?” Noatak was silent. ‘Oh, now he’s letting me speak.’   
“We, erm, entered our relationship a few months ago. The pregnancy was a bit of a surprise…” Ai trailed off. Hiroshi suddenly lets out a bellowing laugh and slaps Amon on the back. “You sly dog! You should’ve told me sooner! I would’ve gotten your fiancé here a gift for the baby!” Ai emitted a nervous chuckle and said, “You really don’t have to do that-”

“I insist. It would be a nice distraction until I can be reunited with my daughter. When we have the city to ourselves, I will give you a gift.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sato.”

“Oh, please, you’re practically family now! Call me Hiroshi. What is your name, dear?”

“Ai.”

“Ai,” He repeats. “What a lovely name.” Ai smiled and said, ”Though, if you wouldn’t mind keeping the pregnancy between us, I would appreciate it.”

“Of course.”

Hiroshi turned to face Noatak and suddenly stated, “I believe it’s time. We should land.” Noatak nodded and had a chi-blocker steer in the direction of the airfield. When they reached their destination, they said their goodbyes, and Hiroshi parted from the group. Ai inhaled sharply before facing Noatak and whispering loudly, “Why did you do that?!” 

“I think it would be easier to begin to publicize our relationship. Is that not what you want?”

“No, of course, it is, it was just so sudden and I got flustered.”

Noatak placed a hand on Ai’s shoulder - the most romantic gesture he could give at the moment - and Ai suddenly realized she should probably tell her friends about the engagement (and the pregnancy) before word spreads. Before she was able to do that, however, Noatak gave her a message. She was to head back to her apartment and tell Tarrlok that he was to stay at Air Temple Island after it was taken over. In a cell. In the attic. At least until Ai and Noatak could move in and announce his presence publicly. She definitely did not want to be the bearer of bad news, but she supposed it could not be helped and hitched a ride back to the inner city. 

As she climbed through the window, she spotted Tarrlok sitting on the couch. The radio was on, though it was only the news. “Drinking my tea, Tarrlok?” She attempted to joke to lighten the atmosphere, hoping it would calm her nerves, as well. Tarrlok snickered and said, “I live here too, you know. Against my will, of course.” Despite his attempt at a joke, it didn’t make Ai feel any better about the whole situation. She stiffened and dug her foot into the hardwood floor before Tarrlok asked what was wrong. Ai cleared her throat and delivered in her most commanding voice possible, “You are to stay on Air Temple Island after we have taken it over. For the time being, you are to stay in a cell in the attic until Noatak and I can publicize your presence.” Tarrlok’s brows knit together and he suddenly stood. “He is not putting me in a cell again-”

“Tarrlok, it’s only for show. The rest of the Equalists can’t think you’re being given any special treatment.” He growled at this. Ai rested her hands on his shoulders and manually turned him to face her. “It’s going to be okay. You need to know that your brother and I care about you. We want you to join us when this is all over.” Tarrlok locked eyes with her for a moment before his head slumped. “Fine.”

“Do it for a happy future, Tarrlok.” 

His expression soured at this, but he regained his composure and gave Ai a small smile. There was suddenly a knock at the door, and Tarrlok shot up quickly and hid. She opened her front door, and there stood Pao, a surprising stern expression plastered on her face. “Amon captured Chief Lin Beifong. He’s taking her bending tonight on Air Temple Island and wants you there.” Ai nodded and was about to shut the door when Pao stepped through the threshold and grabbed on to the other’s wrists. Her stormy eyes squinted and she neared her face towards Ai’s. “Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Amon?” A lump formed in the woman’s throat. How did word spread that quickly? “Pao, I’m so sorry, I was going to tell you, I just-” 

“C’mon, Ai! We’re gal pals! You can tell me anything!” Ai blinked a few times, slightly calming. “Congratulations, girlfriend. I’m happy for ya.” Pao winked. “Also I kinda suspected it was gonna happen with all the time you were spending with him.’

“Really? I thought most of the chi-blockers thought that Liang and I had some sort of thing.”

“Pfft, you and Liang? That’s never gonna happen. Trust me.”

Ai hopped out of the window, much to Pao’s confusion, and they were on their way to Air Temple Island. Pao asked if she could tell the others, of course, and Ai told her that it was fine. She was going to tell them anyway. It soon began to pour buckets of rain and the two raced up the steps to the temple. As the temple came into sight, she could see Noatak and Liang, as well as a few chi-blockers, crowded around a kneeling form. She could hear them talking, but couldn’t make out any sort of language between them. As she approached the crowd, she could see the police chief kneeled on the wet cement as Noatak placed his hand on her forehead. Ai could see the pure expression of reluctance and fear as she could feel her bending leave her body. This was the first time Ai viewed such a stoic taking of Noatak’s power, and she felt something bubble in her chest. What was it that she felt? She sure couldn’t tell. All she knew is that this was the first time upon viewing someone’s bending being taken away that affected her deeply. Was it because she was so stoic? Because she took it so humbly? Ai didn’t know.


End file.
